Min Je was not the type to let suspicious things slide. So the last time I Tae approached Ha Yeon did not seem trivial.

‘I smell something. A very unpleasant smell at that.’

He frowned, deep in thought. It seemed like the kind of smell of terrible scheming or conspiracy he had experienced in the past was creeping up.

‘Cha I Tae recognized her value?’

Ha? He chuckled and rubbed his chin. In an instant, his eyes turned cold like a well-sharpened blade.

He couldn’t believe that Cha I Tae’s judgment, which had always been different from his own, suddenly became the same. Whether he approached Ha Yeon with pure goodwill or not, it made him feel bad no matter what. To be more precise, he just didn’t like the fact that his gaze fell on Ha Yeon itself.

With an expression like a predator about to tear into its prey, he made a call somewhere.

“How is the investigation I asked you to look into going?”

― It’s not easy to approach as the surveillance is thorough since the background is suspicious. It seems it will take a bit more time.

“Please contact me immediately if anything comes up.”

― Yes, understood.

Kang Min Je was someone who returned twice what he received. This was how he had lived.

‘Go Eun Mi, Cha I Tae, you should have known what kind of person I am, so you’ll have to deal with the consequences.’

He knew that Eun Mi had previously approached women who had shown interest in him. He left it alone despite knowing everything because he didn’t even have anything to call interest in them. He wasn’t a generous person to spend time and energy on people he wasn’t interested in.

But this time was different. How dare they try to do the same thing to his precious person.

‘They’re underestimating me because I stayed still.’

He sneered with a sardonic smile. When he didn’t have precious things, he didn’t know, but now that he did, it seemed he could become even more vicious to protect them.

Eun Mi barged into I Tae’s gallery with an irritated face.

She had contacted him several times, but he had repeatedly declined to meet, using the excuse of being busy.

‘Busy my foot.’

Saying he was busy was just a plausible excuse. It probably just meant he didn’t want to meet.

‘Does he think I don’t know that.’

Cha I Tae was avoiding her now. Eun Mi bit her lip repeatedly as she entered the director’s office, and became even more annoyed when the surprised secretary stood up abruptly upon seeing her.

“What brings you here without notice?”

What brings me here. I came because I have business. Hiding her true feelings, Eun Mi spoke quickly.

“Is the director inside? Don’t just stand there staring, bring some tea.”

The secretary gaped in bewilderment as Eun Mi unhesitatingly opened the door to the director’s office and went in.

From the few encounters, Eun Mi was known to be haughty and not particularly polite, but she wasn’t this outrageous – it seems the secretary had misjudged her.

As the secretary hurriedly followed Eun Mi in, I Tae, who had roughly grasped the situation, waved his hand indicating it was fine.

As the secretary bowed slightly and withdrew, Eun Mi snorted while crossing her arms.

“Hmpf, you said you were so busy, so I had no choice but to come myself.”

I Tae frowned momentarily at the sarcastic remark. The feeling of meeting someone he didn’t want to see was quite unpleasant. No, to put it crudely, it was disgusting.

These days, he had been constantly lost in thought and his mind was complicated, and he really didn’t want to meet Eun Mi of all people. It wasn’t difficult to predict that she, who had barged in without knowing his feelings, would turn his insides upside down.

“I’m busy. As you can see, I’m busy.”

I Tae pointed at the documents messily placed on the desk and spoke a bit curtly.

“No matter how busy, is it that hard to spare a moment?”

Eun Mi’s voice became thin and sharp. It grated on his ears especially today.

“Why should I? What kind of relationship do we have? Do you see me as some lapdog that comes running whenever you call?”

The fierce emotion that he couldn’t filter showed through. As it wasn’t the usual Cha I Tae who would smile gently and humor her, Eun Mi flinched for a moment.

“What’s this? Why are you like this?”

But Eun Mi, who had never considered or accommodated others, raised her voice instead.

“That’s what I should be asking. You’re the one who suddenly came here.”

Eun Mi felt insulted by I Tae’s cold words. Still, she needed to know how much progress had been made on the task he had agreed to handle, so she suppressed her boiling emotions and opened her mouth.

“I’ll leave soon, just tell me how things are going with that woman.”

I Tae took a deep breath, momentarily angered by the commanding tone. Perhaps he was angry because she treated Ha Yeon as if she were just an object to be disposed of.

‘She’s completely different from you.’

How dare she think so highly of herself without even knowing that. No matter how much he liked succeeding, he couldn’t do this anymore.

“I’m sorry, but let’s consider it never happened. I won’t be involved in this matter anymore.”

“What? How can that be? Did you take a bribe from that woman or something?”

Eun Mi raised her voice in agitation.

“You always think!”

I Tae raised his voice following Eun Mi but swallowed the rest of his words. After all, responding emotionally wasn’t a wise method.

“Then why are you saying you won’t do it?”

Eun Mi glared fiercely with an expression of incomprehension.

Right, why don’t I feel like doing it after starting the task? I Tae smiled bitterly in self-mockery.

The complicated thoughts he had felt while watching Ha Yeon revived, making him feel like his mind was tangled like a ball of thread. He looked straight into Eun Mi’s eyes and spoke as if cutting the tangled thread.

“Just, I don’t want to do it anymore.”

“Are you crazy? Are you playing with me? What are you trying to do with me?”

Eun Mi unleashed a torrent of harsh words and made a scene. Amusingly, her threatening and curse-filled voice didn’t bother him at all.

I should have done this earlier. It feels so comfortable to break free from being dragged along forcibly… I didn’t know that.

“Leave.”

I Tae waved his arm as if annoyed. Eun Mi was dumbfounded and grabbed the back of her neck, spitting out even harsher insults, but I Tae just stared at her calmly with cold eyes.

“You’ll see, I’ll make you regret how you treated me today!”

Eun Mi, filled with rage, glared with venomous eyes and slammed the door shut as she left.

‘Regret? Regret…’

I Tae gazed at the spot where Eun Mi had left and fell into thought.

Regret? I regret more the days I spent cleaning up after you. I Tae stroked his chin with a bitter expression of self-mockery.

‘Is it fortunate that I cut ties now at least?’

Not feeling fortunate at all, I Tae let out a long sigh.

As time passed, Ji Hoo’s camp day finally arrived. Ha Yeon had been busy since the day before, packing the child’s luggage.

“Did I forget anything? Hmm, doesn’t seem like it.”

Min Je chuckled as he watched Ha Yeon talking to herself. He wouldn’t be bored just watching what she was doing all day.

“If you’re done, shall we go?”

Min Je said as he put a cap on Ji Hoo. Since there was quite a bit of luggage for the 2-day 1-night stay, Min Je had agreed to take him to kindergarten today.

“Yes, let’s go.”

Ji Hoo nodded with a smile, firmly gripping his bag, insisting on carrying his own luggage even if offered help.

“Have a good trip.”

Though she tried not to show it, Ha Yeon’s expression revealed her anxiety, as if she had left her child by the water. Seeing this, Ji Hoo put on a stern expression and gave Ha Yeon some nagging advice.

“Don’t eat ramen instead of meals just because I’m not here, don’t stay up late, and wake up early.”

Who’s lecturing whom here? Ha Yeon let out an exasperated sigh. But thanks to Ji Hoo’s advice, her worries seemed to melt away like snow.

“Alright, alright. I got it, so have fun.”

Ha Yeon followed them to the car to see Ji Hoo off. Seeing Ji Hoo waving his hand excitedly made her heart swell with warmth.

After putting Ji Hoo in the back seat, Min Je was about to go to the driver’s seat when he paused, quickly approached Ha Yeon, and whispered in her ear.

“I’ll try to come back early.”

At his words, Ha Yeon’s face turned bright red, and she could only manage a nod without being able to answer.

Oh, what should I do? Even after the car had left, Ha Yeon fidgeted restlessly, unable to calm her abnormally fast heartbeat after hearing Min Je’s whisper.

“Are you sure you can manage dinner on your own?”

Mi Ran, who got off work early, looked at Ha Yeon with an uncomfortable gaze as she spoke.

“How old do you think I am that you’re worried I can’t even manage dinner?”

Ha Yeon, who had already made plans to have dinner alone with Min Je, raised her voice and joked around, feeling a bit guilty.

“As you get older, you worry about unnecessary things. Just like how in a parent’s eyes, no matter how old their child gets, they always look uneasy.”

Realizing that Mi Ran’s words meant she was worrying about her like a parent, Ha Yeon made a nasal sound and hugged her neck.

“As expected, I only have you, auntie.”

“Oh my, how disgusting.”

Though she said it was disgusting and pushed away Ha Yeon who was hugging her, Mi Ran’s eyes were curved with affection.

“I’ve prepared lots of side dishes in the fridge, so take them out and eat.”

This is soy-braised meat, this is stir-fried anchovies, this is braised burdock root… After explaining the side dishes, Mi Ran finally left work. And Ha Yeon, left alone in the silent house, started to feel nervous again and couldn’t focus on her work.

And at that time, there was another person who couldn’t focus on work like Ha Yeon.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t hear, could you explain again?”

“Ah, yes… Director.”

The employee who was explaining the exhibition schedule for next month tilted their head, looking at Min Je who seemed to have lost a screw somewhere. To think that even the great Kang Min Je could miss report content while lost in thought.

And Jun Won, who was watching this scene, couldn’t control his uneasy heart and nervously shook his leg.

‘Are you trying to pull something while Ji Hoo is away!’

Jun Won, who already knew that Ji Hoo was away at kindergarten camp today, felt like he could see right through Min Je’s lecherous intentions.

It wasn’t his place to comment on the love life of grown adults, but he couldn’t understand why he felt so anxious. Whether Min Je and Ha Yeon spent a passionate night together or not wasn’t his business.

Suddenly invaded by the intimate night scene of Min Je and Ha Yeon in his mind, Jun Won shook his head in dismay.

“What’s wrong? You look like someone possessed.”

Min Je asked, raising one eyebrow. Jun Won seemed a bit off today. Sitting on the sofa, chewing his nails and shaking his leg while lost in thought, and now shaking his head vigorously as if he’d seen a ghost.

“Hyung, you couldn’t be…?”

As Min Je narrowed his eyes and looked at him, Jun Won unconsciously flinched. Has this vicious guy learned mind reading too and can read all my thoughts?

“…Did you invest in stocks?”

Jun Won’s body, which had stiffened with tension, momentarily faltered.

“I don’t do that anymore!”

You don’t even know what I’m thinking! Jun Won snorted, blowing air out of his nose. He had barely managed to put aside his thoughts of barging in with beer in the evening, and here Min Je was, spouting such nonsense.

‘Whether I become a helper or a hindrance to your love life depends on you!’

As Jun Won glared at him, Min Je wiggled his eyebrows and said,

“Really? If it’s not that, then it’s an even bigger problem. If you’re in this state and it’s not about stocks?”

This guy! Just as Jun Won was about to say something, taking a breath,

“You should leave work early today too. When you’re not feeling well, you need to rest.”

Min Je said with a grin, completely unlike the prickly and sensitive Kang Min Je one would expect.

“Leave work early, you say?”

Jun Won asked, doubting his own ears, wondering if he had heard correctly.

“Yes, leave work early.”

As Min Je repeated the same words and waved his hand, Jun Won thought while subtly covering his mouth.

‘Can a person change this much? This love thing, seems worth trying.’

Jun Won smirked at Min Je’s changed appearance and replied.

“Really? Then, ahem, well, I guess I will.”

It’s absolutely not that he’s immediately giving in because he gets to leave work early. He was just amazed to see Kang Min Je changing right before his eyes.