After finishing the phone call with Yong Gi, Sun Woo immediately drove his car towards Han Moon Taek’s house.

At the end of a long alley where remnants of old Seoul still remained, stood a two-story detached house.

Three private security guards were waiting for him in front of Han Moon Taek’s house.

“My wife is likely trapped somewhere inside. The most important thing is to safely bring her out.”

“Could there be anyone guarding her?”

“I don’t know. There might be no one, or there could be more than us. So please be careful.”

As Sun Woo finished explaining, one of the guards swiftly jumped over the wall and opened the main gate.

One stayed behind to guard the gate, while Sun Woo and two guards examined the entrance and surroundings.

“The front door is locked.”

Sun Woo looked around, picked up a stone from the yard, and struck the first-floor living room window.

Crash!

“Director, let us handle this.”

The guards quickly took off their shirts, wrapped their hands, removed the glass, and unlocked the living room window.

As the three entered the house, they heard a strange sound from upstairs.

Thump! Thump!

It sounded like something heavy was being struck.

Crack!

When the three reached the door of the room where Green was trapped, they heard a loud sound of large glass shattering.

Pale-faced, Sun Woo instinctively grabbed the doorknob and shook it.

“Green, are you in there?”

A brief silence followed. Though it lasted only a few seconds, he felt a suffocating pressure.

“Yes, I’m here.”

As soon as Green’s faint voice was heard, Sun Woo, without hesitation, broke the door hinges and kicked the door with all his might.

The firmly closed door fell helplessly.

“Are you alright?”

As Sun Woo took a step towards Green, who stood with tears in her eyes, she stretched out her hand to stop him.

“Sun Woo, don’t come closer.”

For a moment, Sun Woo’s heart sank.

‘Is she blaming me for coming too late? Or has Han Moon Taek convinced her to turn her back on me?’

“There’s a lot of glass shards in the room. If you come in, you might get hurt…”

Sun Woo was greatly relieved by Green’s words. Without further hesitation, he strode towards her.

The sound of glass breaking under Sun Woo’s feet was heard.

“Green, don’t move and stay where you are.”

Seeing that he was wearing shoes, Green nodded, seemingly reassured.

He removed the scarf she had used to protect her face from glass shards, and unwrapped the muffler loosely wound around her arms.

Green exhaled deeply, like someone freed from ropes. Sun Woo lifted her up and held her in his arms.

“Sun Woo, I’m not hurt. Put me down.”

“As you said, there’s a lot of glass on the floor. Stay like this until we get outside.”

Only then did she stop squirming in his arms. Still holding Green, Sun Woo looked around the room.

“Did you do all this, Green?”

“I had no choice if I wanted to get out.”

Looking around the chaotic room, Green mumbled, lowering her head as if embarrassed. Sun Woo lightly kissed her temple and said,

“You did well.”

As Sun Woo carried Green out of the room, she became frightened upon seeing unfamiliar men in black suits.

“Ah, they came with me. Don’t be scared.”

As Sun Woo quickly carried Green out through the main gate, an elderly neighbor lady was peering out.

“Hey, what’s going on there?”

“Grandmother, it’s me, Green. Have you been well?”

“Oh? It really is Green! I heard you married into a rich family and were doing well?”

The neighbor lady spoke to Green while curiously eyeing Sun Woo’s face.

“Is that your husband?”

“Yes, the door was broken, and I was trapped in the room. My husband came and had to break down the door, so it made a loud noise. Were you startled?”

“Startled? Not at all. But is your husband a bit hot-tempered? If the door was locked, why not call a locksmith instead of breaking down a perfectly good door?”

Unaware that Green had been forcibly confined, the grandmother casually pointed out Sun Woo’s apparent impatience.

“Ah, I guess he was burning up inside seeing his pretty wife trapped in a room. Look how pale his handsome face has turned.”

Sun Woo’s face reddened with embarrassment at the grandmother’s self-commentary. Green, for her part, kept fidgeting, uncomfortable being held by Sun Woo in front of an elder.

“Elder, we’ll be going now. I’ll greet you properly next time we meet.”

“Alright, Green must have had a tough time. Go on now.”

Sun Woo hurriedly put Green in the car. Just then, the security guards who had finished tidying up inside came out with Green’s shoes and bag.

“Thank you for today.”

“It’s nothing, Director. We weren’t much help.”

The guards replied sheepishly, but Sun Woo shook his head.

“I’ll properly repay you for today’s favor.”

After briefly saying goodbye, Sun Woo immediately set off for home. Seeing Sun Woo’s stiff expression, Green apologetically said,

“You were worried a lot, right? Father took my phone, so I couldn’t call you.”

“I thought that might be the case. We’ll report that phone as lost and get you a new one.”

Afterward, Sun Woo stopped talking and focused solely on driving. He wanted to get her to the safety of home as quickly as possible.

When Sun Woo brought Green home, supporting her, Ahn Sung Daek, who had been waiting, greeted them.

“Oh my! Madam, your face has become half its size in just a few days!”

“I’m sorry for suddenly contacting you this morning.”

“It’s alright, Director. I’ll prepare some porridge for you to eat first.”

As Ahn Sung Daek busily moved to the kitchen, Sun Woo took Green to the main bedroom and carefully laid her on the bed.

“The housekeeper will stay with you all day. Don’t worry and rest.”

“What about you?”

“I have some things left to resolve.”

Green nodded. Being at the center of all this commotion, he must have a lot to do.

Though she understood this rationally, Green still held Sun Woo’s hand tightly as she quickly fell into a deep sleep.

Sun Woo, gazing at her affectionately, gently withdrew his hand. Then he whispered softly in her ear.

“I’ll be back soon. Please wait just a little while.”

As Sun Woo came out of the bedroom, Ahn Sung Daek, who had finished preparing the meal, was waiting.

“My wife has fallen asleep. Please make sure she can eat later.”

“Yes, I’ll take good care of her, so don’t worry, Director.”

As Sun Woo turned to leave, he looked back at Ahn Sung Daek and added,

“Don’t open the door for anyone except me. Not even for our parents or Green’s father.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Finally reassured by the trustworthy and diligent Ahn Sung Daek’s expression, Sun Woo drove to the Wide Current Affairs office where Han Moon Taek and Jin Young Cheol were confronting each other.

******

When Sun Woo arrived, Han Moon Taek and Jin Young Cheol were sitting across a table, facing off.

Yong Gi, who had been waiting anxiously between the two, brightened up as if he’d found a savior when he saw Sun Woo.

At the same time, he felt a bit resentful towards Sun Woo for only showing up now, after the two men’s petty physical and even pettier verbal fight had just barely calmed down.

“What happened?”

“Don’t even ask. It was utter chaos until 20 minutes ago.”

As if to prove Yong Gi’s words, the magazine office was in shambles, as though a typhoon had swept through. The employees had already fled, leaving all the desks empty.

“Assemblyman Jin was swinging a golf club, and Mr. Han Moon Taek was dodging around while constantly provoking Assemblyman Jin.”

“Hmm…”

“After that, every animal baby – puppies, calves, foals – was summoned in their insults.”

Sun Woo took a careful look around the Wide Current Affairs office run by Han Moon Taek. It was shabby and run-down at first glance.

Han Moon Taek, who had been on the brink of bankruptcy, had made a dramatic recovery right after Green and Sun Woo’s wedding by securing investments from various sources.

Until the day before the wedding, he had been full of dreams about pulling in all the advertisements related to K1 Construction by using Sun Woo.

Several small construction companies had also proposed holding events in conjunction with Wide Current Affairs. For Han Moon Taek, each of these proposals was a potential source of money.

But from the wedding day until now, as Sun Woo’s face became impossible to see, people’s attitudes changed.

Investment plans were being withdrawn one by one, and he was worried about having to close the magazine office again.

Sun Woo, who quickly grasped Han Moon Taek’s current situation, asked Yong Gi in a cold voice,

“How did these two gentlemen, who were so enraged, regain their composure?”

Sun Woo asked curiously, looking at Jin Young Cheol and Han Moon Taek, who were just glaring at each other with their mouths tightly shut.

“First, Mr. Han Moon Taek said he would sue you and your father for marriage fraud, claiming you hid the fact that you were an illegitimate child.”

“They were the ones who pushed for the marriage, even resorting to blackmail?”

“So Assemblyman Jin countered that he would file a counter-suit for blackmail and intimidation. He said he had photos as evidence of the blackmail, and since photos proving Assemblyman Jin’s innocence were revealed to the world today along with Hae Dang Hwa, he had nothing to fear.”

“…”

“With those words, they’ve been in this standoff for 20 minutes now.”

As Sun Woo refrained from hastily intervening between the two fathers and continued to observe, Jin Young Cheol, who had been staring at Han Moon Taek with contemptuous eyes, finally spoke.

“We’ve realized once again that there’s nothing good in getting entangled with each other for long, so let’s end this cleanly.”

“Agreed. I have many grievances too, but I’ll wrap this up quickly with the mindset of avoiding filth because it’s dirty.”

“Look who’s talking!”

As Jin Young Cheol burst out again, Han Moon Taek quickly waved his hands to calm him down.

“So we’re agreeing not to file lawsuits against each other, right?”

“Fine. Instead, tomorrow, you’ll sign the divorce papers for the kids and submit them to the court.”

“That’s what I want.”

As if they had never fought like enemies, the two men came to an agreement with one mind.

“Sun Woo, you heard that clearly, right? Tomorrow, prepare the divorce papers and submit them to the court.”

Jin Young Cheol, who hadn’t even looked at Sun Woo when he came in, suddenly called his son’s name and abruptly announced.

Only then realizing Sun Woo’s presence, Han Moon Taek hurriedly took out his phone and dialed somewhere.

But the ringtone sounded from Han Moon Taek’s desk. It was the sound of Green’s phone that he had confiscated.

“Green is at our house now.”

“What? How did Green get to that house?”

To Han Moon Taek, who still hadn’t grasped the situation, Sun Woo coldly replied,

“I went and brought her myself. Since Green is safe, I’ll let it go this time, but there won’t be a second chance.”

Han Moon Taek felt a cold sweat run down his spine at Sun Woo’s icy gaze, devoid of any warmth. He could feel with his entire body that Sun Woo wasn’t just speaking empty words.

“The house is a bit of a mess, but I left it as is since I couldn’t touch someone else’s house without permission. Please keep that in mind.”

Leaving behind the dumbfounded Han Moon Taek and Jin Young Cheol, Sun Woo briefly said to Ahn Yong Gi,

“Manager Ahn, let’s return to the company.”