Green’s father, Han Moon Taek, secretly sold his wife’s wedding gift in the past without her knowledge. This remained a lifelong grudge for Green’s mother, who would bring it up whenever she argued with her husband.

“I’m going to succeed as a photographer now. So I need your help.”

“Huh? Your in-laws are letting you pick up a camera again?”

“Actually, Sun Woo’s grandfather gave me a studio in Cheongdam-dong.”

Green shyly handed out business cards to her friends. Hannah’s eyes sparkled as she confirmed the address.

“Oh my god! You got a free studio in prime Cheongdam real estate?”

“I do have to pay monthly rent, but yes! I have my own studio now.”

“Eek!”

Hannah and Green held hands and spun around, bouncing around the living room. Jenny watched them with a faint smile.

“Let’s go see the studio right now.”

“It’s still under renovation. They put up the sign yesterday and said they need to fix a few things today.”

“Then let’s make a website first and distribute flyers.”

“I’ve already selected some photos to put on the website.”

Green opened her laptop and a folder containing the photos she had worked on. The three of them put their heads together to choose photos for the studio’s homepage. Most were photos of Jenny and Morgan.

While they were at it, Hannah also organized places to distribute promotional flyers.

“I can hand out about 100 to my acquaintances, and Green, you leave about 200 with the modeling academy director to give to students. Jenny, what about you?”

“I can distribute about 100 to my juniors at the agency and managers.”

“Okay. So that’s 400 basic, plus if we distribute to modeling and acting academies around Gangnam Station and Daehangno, let’s print 2,000 for now. We can add more later if needed.”

“2,000? Isn’t that too many?”

Green looked slightly intimidated by Hannah’s strong drive.

“Too many? Then just do 400. If you don’t get customers and fall behind on rent, you can always sell your wedding ring, right?”

At Hannah’s nonchalant words, sparks flew from Green’s eyes. That was absolutely not an option.

“Print 5,000!”

At her defiant cry, Jenny and Hannah burst out laughing again. Green was the most fun friend to tease in the world.

*****

Jin Young Cheol, whose mood had soured after talking with Sun Woo, reluctantly got up and attended the book launch of an opposition party member who had once been in the same party.

He wondered why on earth they were holding a book launch on a Sunday, but apparently it couldn’t be helped since today, Sunday, happened to be the 25th anniversary of his entry into politics.

‘He really is an inflexible character, now as before’

While inwardly criticizing, Jin Young Cheol outwardly smiled and offered congratulations.

“Congratulations, Assemblyman Jang.”

“Oh my, Assemblyman Jin, you’ve made the difficult trip here. Thank you.”

“What do you mean Assemblyman, I’ve already lost my badge. I came because an old comrade was having a book launch.”

“You’ve come well. Once a comrade, always a comrade. Once an assemblyman, always an assemblyman, right?”

They clasped hands and exchanged insincere pleasantries with forced laughter.

After finishing the formal greetings, Jin Young Cheol looked around intending to just have dinner and leave, when he spotted a familiar face and his expression hardened.

Yoon Seol Hee!

The girl who once worked as an intern aide under him, and who was also Sun Woo’s lover.

Yoon Seol Hee’s father, Yoon Ki Hoon, was the founder of Asung Tech, a semiconductor equipment company with which Jin Young Cheol was acquainted. His only daughter, Yoon Seol Hee, was very interested in politics.

Naturally, Yoon Ki Hoon asked Jin Young Cheol to take care of his daughter, and Jin Young Cheol accepted her as an intern aide.

Jin Young Cheol was intrigued by Yoon Seol Hee, who didn’t hide her political ambitions from their first meeting. She reminded him of a woman he knew in the past.

But she was definitely not daughter-in-law material. Sun Woo’s match needed to be someone who could support him well as a politician’s wife, and the daughter of a family firmly established in either politics or business. A family that could be wings for Sun Woo even if he broke away from K1 Construction as an illegitimate child.

Of course, he didn’t want Sun Woo to go into politics from the beginning. He hoped the smart Sun Woo would inherit K1 Construction, and there was a time when he believed it was possible.

Especially when middle school Sun Woo passed the Mensa test, his expectations rose to the maximum when Park Chan Wook, a businessman rumored to be cold and sometimes even cruel, threw a party for Sun Woo.

When he read expectation and joy for Sun Woo in the eyes of his father-in-law Park Chan Wook, whose thoughts were usually inscrutable, he was elated with the expectation that he had fully accepted Sun Woo as his grandson.

So he quickly emptied his glass and got drunk early, then offered a glass to Park Chan Wook, whom he usually couldn’t even make eye contact with, and joked:

“Father-in-law, thank you so much for treating Sun Woo like a real grandson. I have no regrets now.”

Then Park Chan Wook, who had been looking at Sun Woo contentedly until then, turned to him with a serious expression.

“In your eyes, do I seem to be treating Sun Woo ‘like’ a real grandson?”

“Pardon?”

Seeing Park Chan Wook’s suddenly cold eyes and expression, Jin Young Cheol sobered up instantly.

“Tell me. Is Sun Woo really my grandson?”

Judging that he was clearly drawing a line between himself and Sun Woo, Jin Young Cheol hurriedly continued:

“Of, of course Sun Woo isn’t your real grandson, but you care for my son so much…”

“I care for your son? Who says that?”

Feeling like he was sinking deeper into a swamp with every word, Jin Young Cheol could only gape without replying.

Then Park Chan Wook glared at him with cold eyes.

“In Young’s son is my grandson. Isn’t that right, Son-in-law Jin?”

“Y-yes, that’s right.”

Now Park Chan Wook’s eyes looking at him were not just cold, but filled with contempt.

At that moment, Jin Young Cheol realized. That even if the sky split open, Park Chan Wook had no intention of treating Sun Woo as a real grandson. And he decided. That he, as Sun Woo’s biological father, must take care of his son’s future.

For that very reason, Yoon Seol Hee was not a match for Sun Woo. Although Asung Tech was a good company, it didn’t meet Jin Young Cheol’s expectations.

Moreover, Yoon Seol Hee was definitely not the type to be satisfied just supporting Sun Woo as his wife.

“Father, I’m dating Yoon Seol Hee. I’m thinking of marriage.”

So when Sun Woo confessed that he and Yoon Seol Hee had become lovers, he was very disappointed. But he also knew it wouldn’t be easy to break his son’s stubbornness right away.

Because when Sun Woo joined K1 Construction, Jin Young Cheol had raised all sorts of hell trying to stop him, but to no avail. No, he even felt that Sun Woo was being more stubborn because Jin Young Cheol opposed it.

Instead, Jin Young Cheol decided to use Yoon Seol Hee to draw his son into politics. He calculated that once Sun Woo came to the political world, it wouldn’t be too late to separate them then.

So he strictly warned Sun Woo.

“You must never reveal to Yoon Seol Hee that you’re an illegitimate child.”

“Why not?”

“Because the moment she knows that fact, she’ll leave you.”

Would the ambitious girl marry Jin Sun Woo, who had nothing to do with K1 Construction and was just Jin Young Cheol’s illegitimate son? Not a chance.

Moreover, once a secret starts to leak, it becomes unstoppable.

But the foolish boy eventually confessed the truth to Yoon Seol Hee. As Jin Young Cheol had predicted, Yoon Seol Hee left Sun Woo without looking back.

After that, Sun Woo seemed to completely lose interest in women and threw himself into work like a madman.

Jin Young Cheol watched to see how high his father-in-law Park Chan Wook would raise Sun Woo. Extraordinarily, Sun Woo became a division head at thirty.

Looking at the speed of his rapid promotion alone, no one would doubt that Sun Woo would succeed In Young as the owner of K1 Construction.

But Jin Young Cheol trusted neither his father-in-law Park Chan Wook nor his wife In Young. Because his too-busy wife had never shown Sun Woo the warmth of a mother.

“Was it Father’s idea to make Sun Woo a division head this time?”

“I recommended it. Father agreed too.”

“Did you recommend him because he’s our son?”

At Jin Young Cheol’s question, In Young looked at him with contempt.

“Talk sense.”

“What doesn’t make sense about making our son a division head? Are you saying it doesn’t make sense because Sun Woo isn’t your biological son? Could you say that even if Sun Woo were your biological son?”

“Of course. Even if he were my biological son, he couldn’t take that position without ability.”

It was a statement praising Sun Woo’s abilities, but Jin Young Cheol interpreted it differently.

‘Since even a biological son couldn’t take that position without ability, Sun Woo, who wasn’t a biological son, should know his place early on.’

As Jin Young Cheol was lost in thought about past events, Yoon Seol Hee approached him first and greeted him.

“It’s been a while, Assemblyman Jin Young Cheol. Are you well?”

Seeing Yoon Seol Hee’s polite but cold expression, Jin Young Cheol reluctantly replied with a sour face.

“It has been a while. I heard you got married and went to America, when did you come back to Korea?”

“Last month. You’re late with the news. I’ve come as the spokesperson for the Reform Progressive Party this time.”

For a moment, Jin Young Cheol’s face turned pale. Baek Sun Joo, the representative of the Reform Progressive Party, the second opposition party, was Sun Woo’s birth mother.

Jin Young Cheol quickly glanced at Yoon Seol Hee. To see if she might know about the relationship between Sun Woo and Representative Baek.

But Yoon Seol Hee showed no particular reaction to that.

“Is Sun Woo doing well?”

She just asked about Sun Woo’s well-being, pretending to be indifferent, while keenly observing Jin Young Cheol’s expression.

“Isn’t that no longer your business?”

“You still don’t like me, Assemblyman?”

“How dare you mention that name after turning my perfectly fine son into a wreck!”

At Jin Young Cheol’s sharp reply, Yoon Seol Hee’s lips twisted as if in disbelief.

“Is Sun Woo the type to become a wreck because of someone? And strictly speaking, it happened because of your lie, didn’t it?”

At Yoon Seol Hee’s words, Jin Young Cheol pressed his lips shut. As she said, he had ultimately torn the two of them apart.

Everything seemed to be going according to plan, but there was something he hadn’t anticipated.

That was Sun Woo’s sincerity.

After she left, Sun Woo holed up at home for four days, just drinking.

If he hadn’t gotten the apartment access card from In Young and forcibly dragged his son out to take him to the hospital, he might have stayed like that for a week or even ten days.

The reason his face automatically scrunched up when he saw Yoon Seol Hee was because of this.

“You may not admit it, but I’m a victim too. Your selfishness ruined both your son’s life and mine.”

“The incompetent always blame others! In the end, you made the choice!”

Jin Young Cheol, glaring coldly at Yoon Seol Hee, turned and left the event hall. He had already completely lost his appetite.