Late morning.

The office of Do Hwa Young, Director of EL-U Department Store.

“Aaargh! Am I really this stupid?!”

Hwa Young’s shout made Secretary Yang nod involuntarily.

Unable to go home last night due to reckless drinking, he had just woken up in his office and realized a shocking fact.

“I even went into that house! Met that bastard’s wife! And I didn’t ask for her name! Or her age! Or her job! Damn, I didn’t find out anything!”

It was truly a desperate situation.

He had planned an incredible revenge. And it was in an area he was very confident in.

But he had no information about the target of his revenge.

This was Hwa Young’s own fault for getting too excited.

After hearing Tae Sung’s newlywed home address from Secretary Yang, he had been so focused on the thought of making Joo Tae Sung eat shit that he hadn’t paid attention to the wife.

To think he had the wife right in front of him but failed to dig up her information, instead just going on and on about Joo Tae Sung.

Not realizing that the wife was actually the key to his revenge…

“Yang, why am I living like this…”

Hitting a roadblock from the start, Hwa Young tore at his hair in self-reproach.

Secretary Yang looked at him and let out a deep sigh.

“What’s the need to know Prosecutor Joo Tae Sung’s wife’s name? You said you were just going to meet and talk to her once. Isn’t that enough?”

That was the original plan.

If that wife had trembled before Hwa Young, and Joo Tae Sung had crumbled under Hwa Young’s fierce attack, it would have ended with just one strike.

But the result was completely different.

Joo Tae Sung’s wife had sharp retorts, and Joo Tae Sung acted like a man without shame before heaven, so in the end it was Hwa Young who was driven out of that house.

He even cried a little…

Unable to explain all that in detail, Hwa Young just lashed out angrily.

“Ah, they’re the enemy of my family! I should at least have their personal information as a weapon!”

“It’s better not to know. Be satisfied with meeting them once and forget about it now. The engagement fell through anyway, didn’t it?”

“Even if the engagement is off, I’ll definitely get tangled up with that family again! I guarantee it!”

“Even if you do get involved again, it’s better not to mess with Prosecutor Joo’s family. You know his personality, don’t you?”

Secretary Yang tried to calm Hwa Young with a consistently composed attitude.

This was also an important task that Chairman Choi Yu Ria had entrusted to Secretary Yang.

But Hwa Young, whose revenge seemed to be slipping away, couldn’t easily quell his irritation.

“I should have at least found out her name! Even if not her age, I should have definitely dug up where she works!”

He started pulling at his hair in frustration.

He was supposed to go into a meeting soon, but in this state, it was obvious he would refuse to go.

Secretary Yang let out another deep sigh and thought of Chairman Choi Yu Ria who had hired him.

Do Hwa Young in danger for messing with Prosecutor Joo Tae Sung’s wife, or Do Hwa Young not showing his face at the shareholders’ meeting in 10 minutes.

Which Do Hwa Young would Chairman Choi dislike more?

Which Do Hwa Young would she blame me for?

The answer after a brief deliberation was painfully obvious.

“…Let’s prepare for the meeting first.”

Secretary Yang said in a low voice.

As expected, upon hearing those words, Hwa Young glared at Secretary Yang with sharp eyes.

“Do I look like I can go to a meeting right now?! I’m just going to leave work early today and go back to that house. I know the address now, so finding out that woman’s personal information will be a piece of cake!”

“The meeting starts in 10 minutes. Get yourself together.”

“If I wear a mask, no one will know it’s me, right? It’s fine dust season now, so no one would find it suspicious if I wore a mask.”

“If you sincerely attend the meeting, I’ll give you the information you want afterwards.”

“Yeah, I should just go now… What?”

Hwa Young, who had been rambling on, perked up his ears at Secretary Yang’s proposal.

“Yang… do you know about that woman?”

Secretary Yang looked at Hwa Young with an exasperated expression, then opened his mouth and answered firmly.

“I’m the one who found out exactly which unit Prosecutor Joo Tae Sung’s newlywed home is. You’re the one who ordered the background check on that family, Director.”

Hearing those words, Hwa Young’s eyes finally lit up.

“Ah, that’s right…?”

Suppressing a deep sigh that was about to escape, Secretary Yang spoke in a stern voice.

“If you’re even a minute late to the meeting, the deal is off.”

Hwa Young, who had been sitting in the executive chair all along, immediately pulled out a mirror from the drawer.

As he quickly fixed his disheveled hair, it seemed he was finally going to listen.

Secretary Yang watched him and finally let out a sigh of relief.

Not knowing what kind of trouble passing on information about Joo Tae Sung’s wife might bring in the future.

* * *

A busy afternoon at the news agency with work piling up like crazy.

Ji Wan was fixing her hair with a very tense expression.

The reason she was grooming herself more carefully than usual was because she had an exclusive interview scheduled with a big-shot businessman this afternoon.

Originally, this task had fallen to Ji Wan’s close senior colleague Joo Ah, but today she couldn’t even come to work due to a severe cold.

‘Ji Wan… you’re the only one who can take this on… I’ll definitely repay this favor…’

Ji Wan had been reluctant to take it on because it was burdensome, but Joo Ah’s voice sounded so pitiful that she ended up shouldering the interview.

Whatever the reason, it was now Ji Wan’s responsibility.

Suddenly tasked with a big interview, Ji Wan was busy fixing her hair, reviewing the materials from Joo Ah, and memorizing the question list.

Rrrrr― Rrrrr―

Her phone rang inconsiderately in the midst of her busy schedule.

Ji Wan briefly took her eyes off the question list to check the caller ID on her phone.

She thought it would definitely be a call from Joo Ah who had assigned her the interview, but the number that appeared on the screen was from a place with an even more urgent matter.

“Why is the hospital calling at this hour…”

Usually, calls that came during the day were more likely to be bad news.

Ji Wan hurriedly answered the phone while trying to calm her suddenly tightening chest.

“Hello, this is Lee Ji Wan.”

The nurse’s voice that followed was more urgent than usual.

―Are you Lee Dal Hyun’s guardian? The patient has had a high fever since this morning, but it keeps rising and we can’t bring it down. I called because it could be dangerous if it rises just a little more.

Ji Wan’s face turned pale at the content that confirmed her uneasy feelings.

Ji Wan pressed her trembling fingertips and asked questions urgently, as worried as she was.

“A high fever? Is he conscious? Is it very serious?”

The nurse gave her an answer that was not at all comforting.

―He is conscious. But seeing that the fever isn’t coming down, we have to consider the possibility that it might be a side effect of the new treatment we changed to… We’ll have to monitor the progress for now.

The uncertain diagnosis sounded to Ji Wan like a warning to prepare herself mentally.

Even before, when her father’s condition was poor, treatments that usually worked well would cause problems.

That’s why she had to check his condition several times a day, but lately she hadn’t been able to do so because of various issues.

Ji Wan couldn’t hide her complicated feelings, thinking that her carelessness had caused this.

―Can you come right now?

“Right now…?”

―Yes, Lee Dal Hyun had a critical moment last year due to a high fever too, remember? We can’t guarantee it won’t happen again this time.

After hearing the nurse’s concerned words, Ji Wan first checked her packed schedule.

She already had a lot to deal with, and her quitting time was pushed back even further due to the upcoming exclusive interview.

Ji Wan ran her hand through her hair with a complicated sigh and replied.

“It’ll be around 9 o’clock when I finish work.”

―That’s seven hours later. Hmm, that’s too late… Is there any way you could make it by 6?

“Sigh, I’d like to, but today I’m really in a situation where I can’t get away… If I hurry, I might be able to make it by 8.”

―The high fever isn’t coming down, so 6 hours without a guardian is dangerous. What should we do then…

The nurse’s clearly troubled reaction made Ji Wan even more anxious.

Ji Wan was afraid that her current choice might lead to irreversible regret in the future.

‘Should I hand over the interview to someone else now? Or should I try to ask for a time change?’

Ji Wan searched for several alternatives in her complicated mind, but no particularly good solution came to mind.

There was no way Team Leader Jang, who wouldn’t consider Ji Wan’s circumstances, would allow this either.

―I’ll keep a close eye on him for now. If anything happens before you arrive, I’ll contact you right away.

“Okay, I’ll leave it to you. Thank you…”

The call ended with Ji Wan ultimately leaving her father in the care of the busy nurse.

Feeling guilty and anxious, Ji Wan let out a long sigh, unable to put down the phone she was holding.

Even if they contact her, she won’t be able to answer during the interview.

What if an important surgery comes up in the meantime? What should she do if there’s an urgent situation that requires a guardian?

Ji Wan, who didn’t even have reliable relatives to depend on, couldn’t bear the feeling of helplessness every time this kind of situation arose.

But she couldn’t find a proper solution either, and her expression was just growing darker, when suddenly…

“Ah…!”

One person’s face flashed through her mind.

He was the least trustworthy person, but ironically, he was the only one she could ask for help right now.

There was no time or mental space to look for other alternatives.

After a brief hesitation, Ji Wan picked up her phone.

Then she dialed that man’s number, which was still unfamiliar.

Rrrrr― Rrrrr―

After a few monotonous dial tones…

―It’s my lucky day today. Even getting a welcome phone call.

That person’s characteristic soft voice came through the phone.

It was clearly just lip service, but it was fortunate that he welcomed Ji Wan’s call.

Ji Wan barely moved her lips, which felt as heavy as the weight of her request.

“Tae Sung… I… I now… I mean, I don’t know how to say this, but…”

But not a single word came out properly.

Ji Wan, who had never asked anyone for help in her life, found it difficult to utter the words on the tip of her tongue.

In the end, Ji Wan bit her lip hard without even properly making her request.

An uneasy silence continued for a while.

The one who broke the silence and spoke first was Tae Sung.

―Tell me. What do you need me to do?

At his words, which seemed to see right through her heart, Ji Wan’s eyes trembled.