Ha Yeon instinctively hid Ji Hoo behind her back. She remembered that Ji Hoo’s expression would harden whenever he saw Eun Mi.

“I thought today was my lucky day, but it turned out to be completely awful.”

Eun Mi raised her voice as if wanting Ha Yeon to hear.

Hmph, whether your day is awful or you’re awful, it’s none of my business! Ha Yeon quietly swallowed her anger and spoke to the salon owner.

“Kang Min Je made a reservation, right?”

The quick-witted owner, glancing between Eun Mi and Ha Yeon’s faces, replied,

“Yes, this way please. Is this your son? How would you like his hair done? A cut? Or a perm?”

“A cut, please.”

Ha Yeon led Ji Hoo to the seat the owner indicated. It was a bit away from where Eun Mi sat.

Seeing Ji Hoo’s eyes trembling anxiously, Ha Yeon held the child’s hand tightly and said,

“It’s okay. Your elder sister is here.”

Ha Yeon comforted the child, vowing not to tolerate it if Eun Mi picked a fight again.

She thought about leaving quickly after just getting the haircut, and helped Ji Hoo sit in the styling chair that was much taller than him.

“Oh my, what a handsome young master. You’re so good-looking, just like your father.”

Seeing Ji Hoo’s stiff expression, the owner joked to lighten the mood as she put the cape around him. But when Ji Hoo didn’t react, she gave a bitter smile and started the haircut with quick hands.

Though seated, Eun Mi had all her attention focused on Ha Yeon. When the owner complimented Min Je and Ji Hoo’s looks, she couldn’t bear the twisted feelings that welled up inside her.

‘As if they look alike when they’re not even blood-related, nonsense.’

Eun Mi pursed her lips and raised her voice for no reason.

“It’s been so long since this was done, are you going to keep neglecting me like this? Why is the service so poor here today?”

The owner looked at Eun Mi with a bewildered expression, then quickly signaled to one of the staff. The employee approached Eun Mi and said politely,

“I’m sorry, Madam Director. Even after the machine turns off, you need to stay for about 10 more minutes.”

When the employee tried to touch her hair, Eun Mi coldly swatted her hand away.

“Do you think I’d let a mere employee like you touch my hair?”

“Pardon?”

The employee asked back, her face flushed red with humiliation.

“I only trust the owner with my hair.”

Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve seen such a difficult customer. Ha Yeon chuckled and clicked her tongue.

Even the salon owner, who had dealt with all sorts of customers, momentarily showed a crack in her expression. It seemed awkward in many ways, as Ji Hoo’s haircut wasn’t finished yet.

“Go ahead. I don’t mind if another staff member does it here.”

With no other choice, the owner signaled to the staff with an apologetic look. The employee who had been at a loss after Eun Mi swatted her hand quickly moved over.

“Thank you for understanding.”

As the employee expressed her gratitude, Ha Yeon, feeling empathy for her, muttered,

“A person’s words and actions are proportional to their character…”

The employee couldn’t openly agree but her lips trembled. Instead, her eyes conveyed that her feelings about the earlier bewildering and embarrassing situation had somewhat eased.

As soon as Ji Hoo’s haircut was finished, Ha Yeon immediately left the salon. But Go Eun Mi, as if she had been waiting for that moment, quickly followed and called out to her.

“Wait a moment.”

“What is it?”

Ha Yeon asked back, showing with her whole body that she didn’t want to acknowledge Eun Mi. Seeing her guarded appearance, Eun Mi twisted her lips into a smile.

“Don’t you know who I am?”

Ha Yeon let out an exasperated sigh, wondering what nonsense this was. Regardless, Eun Mi, absorbed in what she wanted to say, rattled on,

“I’m currently serving as the director of the Art Association.”

What on earth is she trying to say? As Ha Yeon stared blankly at Eun Mi, she snapped irritably,

“Don’t you understand what I’m saying? If you get on my bad side, it’ll be difficult for you to work in this field from now on!”

Ah, so it’s a threat. Ha Yeon nodded as if finally understanding.

“So, Madam Director, you’re saying that if I want to survive in this field, I should get on your good side? Is that what you mean?”

Eun Mi, not expecting such a direct question from Ha Yeon, momentarily flustered, her lower eyelids trembling.

“Well, at least you’re not slow on the uptake.”

Though she spouted such words, Eun Mi couldn’t look Ha Yeon in the eye, as if she still had some conscience left.

My goodness, this is ridiculous. Ha Yeon let out a sigh, suppressing the fighting instinct rising within her. There were always people like this everywhere. Shameless people who try to use their position and power to oppress others.

“What if I don’t want to get on your good side?”

Flustered by Ha Yeon’s direct question with eyes wide open, Eun Mi responded fiercely.

“What did you say? Do you want to be ruined in this field…!”

Step by step, as Ha Yeon approached Eun Mi with a fierce expression, Eun Mi, overwhelmed by the intimidating atmosphere, unconsciously closed her mouth.

“I didn’t know that the position of Art Association Director was used to bury people. If that’s the case, why didn’t you become a funeral director instead of getting involved in the unrelated Art Association?”

Faced with this sarcastic question, Eun Mi gaped in shock for a moment.

She acts all weak in front of Min Je, but this is her true nature. Realizing this, Eun Mi’s body trembled.

Where did this vixen come from? She was so dumbfounded, she could barely speak.

“Huh? Are you picking a fight?”

She barely managed to compose herself and barked out.

“No, I’m not.”

Ha Yeon shook her head with a smirk. How can someone be like this? Eun Mi’s mouth fell open in bewilderment. Seizing the moment, Ha Yeon rapidfire continued,

“I can live very nicely and properly if no one provokes me first. But once provoked, it becomes ‘you die, I die’. If you leave me alone, Madam Director, I won’t do anything either. But! If you insist on burying me, I won’t die alone.”

Seeing Ha Yeon emphasizing each word with rolling eyes, goosebumps rose on Eun Mi’s arms. It was clear from her expression that those words weren’t empty threats.

‘Is she completely crazy?’

Does Kang Min Je know she’s this kind of person? Eun Mi was so taken aback, she could only let out a huff. It had been a long time since someone had stood up to her like this, saying everything they wanted to say without being intimidated.

“How dare you!”

Enraged, Eun Mi swung her arm to slap Ha Yeon’s cheek.

Usually, slapping was the go-to method for throwing a tantrum when things didn’t go one’s way. Anticipating this, Ha Yeon grabbed Eun Mi’s wrist with a swift motion.

Then Ha Yeon swung her arm wide as if about to slap Eun Mi’s cheek. It happened so quickly that Eun Mi couldn’t prepare a response.

Thinking Ha Yeon was about to slap her, Eun Mi instinctively flinched and closed her eyes at the sound of air being cut. But nothing happened.

“If I had been hit, I would have hit back.”

When Eun Mi opened her tightly shut eyes, Ha Yeon shrugged once and released Eun Mi’s wrist.

Though brief, Eun Mi’s face turned bright red with shame at having shown a flinching reaction to her.

“You, you…!”

Seeing Eun Mi trembling with rage and pointing fingers, Ha Yeon spoke with a pitying expression.

“If you have nothing more to say, I’ll be going now. No matter how young you are, if you don’t manage your blood pressure, it could be dangerous. You must have a lot to do, so it wouldn’t be good if you suddenly died.”

Ha Yeon gave a bright smile to Eun Mi, who was grabbing the back of her neck, then took Ji Hoo’s hand and left the building completely, getting into the car where Jun Won was waiting.

As the tension dissipated, her whole body seemed to tremble, but she felt exhilarated as if a weight had been lifted.

Noticing that Ha Yeon and Ji Hoo’s expressions were quite strange, Jun Won tilted his head and asked,

“Did something happen?”

Ji Hoo muttered with a complex expression,

“Elder sister defeated the witch.”

After hearing about the encounter with Go Eun Mi at the salon, Min Je quickly wrapped up his work and came to the annex.

He entered the house worrying that Ji Hoo might be upset like last time, but Ji Hoo’s expression looked better than expected.

“It turns out elder sister is a much scarier person than the witch!”

The situation, slightly embellished in the child’s mind, was portraying Ha Yeon as a hero.

“It wasn’t that extreme, Ji Hoo.”

Ha Yeon scratched her face with an embarrassed expression.

Unable to believe that Ha Yeon had bested the fierce and aggressive Eun Mi, Min Je asked Ji Hoo again.

“You really didn’t get hurt at all?”

“The witch tried to hit her, but elder sister grabbed the witch’s hand and said she’d ‘bury her underground’!”

Huh? When did I say that? Ha Yeon let out a groan at the distorted on-site information coming from the child’s mouth.

“I misjudged you. I apologize.”

Adding fuel to the fire, Jun Won praised Ha Yeon like a martial arts master, saying she had shown her true skills.

Oh my, my head. Ha Yeon held her forehead, not knowing where to begin correcting the exaggerated story.

After the boisterous conversation ended, Min Je looked into Ji Hoo’s eyes with a serious expression and asked,

“Ji Hoo, can’t you tell me why you dislike Eun Mi so much?”

At that, the smile instantly disappeared from the child’s face. Seeing that face, unpleasant thoughts started to resurface one after another. Looking at the child’s hardened face, one could guess that something must have happened.

A heavy silence fell. In that silence, Jun Won, who had been pacing the living room with an uncomfortable expression, spoke with a cracked voice.

“I think it would be better if I stepped out.”

He was concerned that Ji Hoo might not be able to open up because of his presence. Min Je nodded quietly, grateful for his consideration.

Even after Jun Won left, Ji Hoo didn’t open his mouth for a while. Min Je knew that this was the time to say what he hadn’t been able to say to Ji Hoo all this time.

So he gathered his courage and spoke.

“Ji Hoo, if you can’t talk, would you listen to daddy’s story?”

Ji Hoo, who had been staring at the floor, looked up at Min Je’s gentle words.

“It’s a story from when you were 3 years old. A story from when you were this small.”

Ha Yeon, holding back the tears that suddenly welled up, sat down next to Ji Hoo and let the child lean against her.

Ji Hoo also realized that what Min Je was about to say was a story about his childhood that his father had never told before, so he focused on his words.

Min Je took a deep breath and began the story.

“Three years ago, on that day…”