Jo Seo Ha lived in this house alone with her maternal grandmother, working as a factory accountant. Most of the money she earned was often spent on hospital bills for her ailing grandmother.

However, after being fired from the factory, she couldn’t find a new job, and while she couldn’t properly attend the hospital, her grandmother passed away.

“I found out too late and took her to the hospital. But the complications were too severe, and it was too late to do anything. Why didn’t you tell me right away? No, you didn’t know either. Damn it!”

Jae Wook grumbled while chewing on the pork belly. He was an amazing person, getting angry at everything.

“By the way, why are you only eating lettuce? Don’t you know that the meat gets tough when it cools down?”

“It’s been meat for days now. I told you I personally prefer a vegetarian diet.”

“You said you would jump out of bed to eat meat even while sleeping, how many times have I heard that? And patients are supposed to eat meat. They need to supplement their protein!”

“Excessive animal protein intake can actually be toxic to patients. Everything in moderation is best.”

Seo Ha placed her half-empty rice bowl in front of her and tapped her mouth to wipe it.

“Thank you for the meal. I’m indebted to you again today.”

“That’s all you’re eating?”

“If I overeat, my body feels heavy.”

Jae Wook scooped the rice Seo Ha had left onto his own rice bowl with an exasperated expression.

“Go up and get ready.”

“For what?”

“You said you’re going to the hospital today. I’ll give you a ride, so come out in thirty minutes.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I can go alone.”

“I’m not giving you a ride because I have free time. I have to deliver a large order to that area anyway.”

Although she didn’t really want to, Seo Ha got a ride in Jae Wook’s fruit truck and headed to the hospital. Riding in the truck while smelling the cigarette odor that had soaked into the seats was much harder than taking the bus or subway.

“How long will the treatment take?”

“A few hours. Don’t worry about it and go ahead first.”

As soon as they arrived at the hospital, Seo Ha jumped out of the truck.

In fact, there was no outpatient treatment. Seo Ha came here to find her mother.

If they could face each other and talk, maybe her mother would come to her senses. Even though she was in a completely different shell, she recognized me as soon as she saw me.

This family was Seo Ha’s only hope and lifeline.

‘It’s a perfect day for a walk.’

As soon as the treatment was over, Seo Ha headed to the garden behind the hospital where she had met Hae Sun.

That choice was excellent. Hae Sun appeared on the opposite side of the walking path. And she was alone.

‘Why is she alone?’

Neither Kyung Jun nor the caregiver were in sight. Seo Ha ran over and grabbed Hae Sun’s hand, feeling happy and relieved, but also worried.

“Mom!”

“……?”

Hae Sun looked at Seo Ha, who had suddenly blocked her way, with a puzzled expression, and then smiled broadly.

“My baby. Did you have a good day at school?”

Tears welled up uncontrollably. Seo Ha quickly rubbed her eyes with her sleeve and smiled back.

“Do you recognize me? Mom. Who am I?”

Hae Sun blinked a few times. The smile on her lips slowly faded.

“You’re a young lady I’ve never seen before. Could your name be……?”

“President!”

At that moment, Kyung Jun came running from the direction Hae Sun had come, along with a scream-like shout. His forehead was covered in sweat, and he was holding his jacket in his hand in a messy manner, as if he had been running all over the hospital looking for Hae Sun.

“What are you doing? I warned you last time!”

Kyung Jun grabbed Seo Ha’s wrist while panting. Because of that, Seo Ha lost hold of her mother’s hand.

“Ouch!”

“You were spying on the president last time she came out too. Why do you keep bothering her? What’s your purpose?”

Kyung Jun growled fiercely. Hae Sun was barely visible, hidden behind him.

“You’re being very rude.”

Seo Ha raised her chin and looked straight at him.

“What did you say?”

“Don’t subtly cut me off. Am I your subordinate?”

Kyung Jun didn’t answer. The look in his eyes as he stared at Seo Ha was also complicated. It was an inscrutable gaze, fitting for a spy.

“I was just taking a walk after my outpatient treatment, and when I saw a mentally unsound person alone, I was worried and holding onto her. Where were you and what were you doing so confidently while President Kang was wandering around alone? Do you know that I can report you for assault right now?”

The grip on her wrist loosened. Seo Ha turned around, rubbing her aching wrist.

She wanted to exchange a few more words with her mother, but it was impossible now that Kyung Jun had arrived.

“There’s definitely something going on. I’ve never called her President Kang in front of that woman.”

Kyung Jun muttered in a low voice as he watched Seo Ha’s retreating figure.

“And……why does she talk so much like Yoon Seo Ha?”

Lee Seung Oh and Ryu Kyung Jun’s way home from work.

Inside the car, there was only silence, without even the usual radio or music.

“It’s spring.”

Kyung Jun, who had been driving while only looking ahead for a while, brought up a completely inappropriate topic. Seung Oh was a little startled and awkwardly replied.

“Yes. It’s spring.”

“Following last year and the year before, how do you feel about ruining the S/S season sales again this year?”

“We didn’t ruin it that much……”

“We did ruin it that much. The chairman was very disappointed.”

In the three years that passed, Seung Oh had actually met Tae Yang Group’s Chairman Ryu only once. However, the impact of that one time was so great that for Seung Oh, whose capacity was not just small but at the level of a soy sauce dish, the word ‘chairman’ was like a trauma.

“Fix the design team. It was wrong from the start to put Ji Soo in the main designer position because of your personal relationship.”

“I just looked at her skills.”

The absurd excuse didn’t work at all. Kyung Jun snorted.

“Tae Yang Group is not a charity. Keep in mind that the performance you’ve shown in this company will have a significant impact on the selection of the position you’ll be given after the M&A.”

Seung Oh couldn’t answer and only bit his innocent lips.

In the first year after he took the position of CEO, Kang Yoon’s sales were stagnant. The next year, sales drew a downward curve, and the following year, the downward curve became even steeper.

The car entered the entrance of the apartment complex. True to its name ‘DH Forest,’ the entire complex was built with an eco-friendly concept. This was the house Hae Sun had bought as a wedding gift for her daughter.

“Let’s go in.”

Kyung Jun parked the car in front of the house and kindly opened the back seat door. To others, he looked like a well-attending escort and secretary to the CEO, nothing more, nothing less.

“Thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

But the one bowing deeply and groveling was Seung Oh.

“Yes. See you then.”

Kyung Jun moved to his own car parked next to them and left the parking lot. Seung Oh sighed with relief that the day was over and took the elevator up.

“What’s this smell?”

As soon as the elevator doors opened, a burnt smell stung his nose. Given the apartment structure with one unit per floor, the source of this smell was clearly his house.

“Honey!”

As Seung Oh pushed open the front door, Ji Soo, wearing a cute apron, ran out with a ladle in her hand.

“You’re home, oppa? Give me your bag. Your clothes too.”

“What’s this smell?”

Seung Oh asked as he handed his bag to Ji Soo.

“I made doenjang jjigae. I’ll make you a delicious ssambap, so take a bath and come. I’ve drawn the water too.”

“Doenjang jjigae?”

When Seung Oh’s face greatly crumpled, Ji Soo was cautious.

“Yes, I remembered that you used to eat it deliciously in the past…… Do you not like it anymore?”

“That was your house! What were you thinking, making it here!”

That house was the rooftop room Ji Soo used to live in with monthly rent. This house was a residential-commercial complex with the interior entirely covered in marble and wood. In a house where the windows don’t open properly and only a certain amount of air circulates through the ventilation system, she made doenjang jjigae.

“How are we going to get rid of the smell? It’ll take days to air out.”

Grumbling, Seung Oh opened the windows as much as he could and turned around with a strange feeling.

“Honey! What are you doing!”

Ji Soo, who was about to pour the doenjang jjigae pot into the sink, looked at him with a start.

“I’m sorry. I’ll get rid of it quickly.”

“Why are you throwing it away again? You already made it.”

Seung Oh snatched the pot from Ji Soo’s hand, put it back on the induction cooktop, and licked the doenjang jjigae splattered on his hand.

“It’s delicious. Give me rice. I’m hungry.”

“Really?”

Ji Soo’s face immediately brightened.

Ji Soo always laughed and cried at a single word from Seung Oh like this. When Seung Oh came home late, she would doze off on the living room sofa waiting for him, and from early dawn, she would prepare breakfast with freshly cooked rice and new soup.

He liked that. He felt his shoulders naturally rise and gain confidence, feeling like a respected head of the household.

That’s how it was for the first few months.

Seung Oh looked at Ji Soo sitting across from him with a fresh gaze.

After they started living together, Ji Soo covered all her belongings with luxury or designer brands. Some were things Yoon Seo Ha used to wear, and some were newly bought. Even the hairpin she was wearing now was from an overseas luxury brand.

He definitely wanted to make things this way for her. He wanted to dress her in only good things and feed her well so that she would never suffer again.

Strangely, it tasted bland.

“Is the F/W new collection coming along well?”

When he asked while picking up his rice spoon, Ji Soo pouted her lips.

“We agreed not to talk about work during meals.”

“Now’s not the time for that. The samples are coming out this month, right?”

Seung Oh tried not to get annoyed.

“It might take a little longer. Another person said they’re quitting.”

“Again?”

In the design team, where not a single person had quit when Yoon Seo Ha was the team leader, the fifth resignation had already occurred. Naturally, work efficiency was falling, and new designs were all over the place.

“It’s okay. I’ll do the designs, and the person who quit this time hadn’t been here long and wasn’t important.”

“……”

Seung Oh stopped eating and held his forehead.

He loved Ji Soo, but he had to admit what needed to be admitted. Ji Soo’s designs were too bland and lacked any distinctive features. In a positive light, they were designs anyone could wear; in a negative light, they were designs sold everywhere.

“We need a new brand. And a new designer.”

Ji Soo’s eyes widened as she looked at Seung Oh.

“A new brand and designer? Then what about me?”

“Your position isn’t disappearing. We need to fill the vacancies anyway, and the new brand was something President Kang was pushing for even when she was well.”

“But.”

“Do as I say.”

Seung Oh cut off Ji Soo’s words as she tried to object again. There was a limit to indulgence. If the M&A fell through because of this, it wouldn’t end with just a small loss.