“What are you doing? You have to give it back.”

When Da Eun held out her hand, Da Hyun hesitantly opened his mouth.

“It’s already been given, can’t I just accept it gratefully?”

“I said give it back.”

“Let’s just accept it as if we’re married, elder sister.”

Da Hyun, who usually called Da Eun ‘hey’, suddenly used the affectionate term ‘elder sister’. Sensing an unusual atmosphere, Da Eun turned her head to look at Geum Suk. She awkwardly avoided eye contact.

It was clear that Da Hyun had tried to sneak it, Geum Suk caught him, and she brought it up worrying that Da Eun might have been fired from her job. Realizing this, anger surged to the top of her head.

“I know what you’re thinking, but no. If you don’t want to see me get fired, hand that over. Even if I were married, I couldn’t accept such a large sum.”

When Da Eun spoke firmly, Da Hyun backed down. He quickly put the paper envelopes into the shopping bag, came to the room, and locked the door. She intended to return it to Yu Kwon first thing tomorrow.

She put the entire shopping bag into a large bag and hid it under the bed. Still, she felt uneasy. This was because her younger brother had once stolen her school trip money that she had saved up from part-time jobs in high school.

That wasn’t all. There was also a time when he borrowed someone else’s motorcycle, got into an accident, and Da Eun had to pay for it. There was also a time when he said he wanted to run an online shop, borrowed money from loan sharks, and she had to pay it back instead.

She would get angry and cry, saying she would cut ties with her brother, but because of Geum Suk, who couldn’t live without her son, Da Eun had to resolve the issues time and time again.

“Not this time.”

Over the sudden sense of unease, Cha Yu Kwon’s face floated.

Could he have come to the wedding? Her heart sank at the thought that she might have shown an unsightly appearance to Yu Kwon of all people. She didn’t want to appear shabby to him, but now she felt bitter.

“What was he thinking, giving such a large sum of money?”

Although they had quite a connection in the past, that was only for a while. After accidentally reuniting at work, Da Eun strictly treated him only as a superior, and now they maintained a relationship just as company colleagues.

No matter how she thought about it, there was no reason for him to give her 100 million won as a wedding gift.

“Could I have been fired?”

It was easier to understand if she had been fired. It didn’t seem like Yu Kwon had given the wedding gift out of goodwill. Of course, it was too much money to be considered severance pay.

The next day, after spending a sleepless night, Da Eun checked the money in her bag and quickly washed up to prepare for work.

As she was leaving her room, Geum Suk anxiously called out to Da Eun.

“Da Eun, help your mother. Da Hyun put the jar up so high. Oh my, I need to make plum syrup.”

Da Eun took down the glass jar from the high place on behalf of Geum Suk, who had difficulty with one leg.

“Here.”

“Thank you. Don’t worry too much and have a good day. If anyone at work says anything, I’ll give them a piece of my mind.”

Geum Suk patted Da Eun’s shoulder.

“Alright, I’m off.”

Da Eun set out for work, carrying her heavy bag. In truth, she hadn’t been unshaken by Da Hyun and Geum Suk’s words. However, she knew that large sums of money always came with a price.

Arriving at work early, Da Eun received a handover from her senior colleague Kyung Mi, who had been covering her work. Yu Kwon had successfully managed his schedule without Da Eun, and there were no particular issues, she said.

Nevertheless, she checked meticulously. She checked and double-checked if there were any changes in schedule or how his mood was.

This was because Yu Kwon, whom she served as a superior, was a severe workaholic with an extremely sensitive personality. His perfectionist character that didn’t tolerate mistakes also played a part.

While preparing for work, Da Eun received a call from Jung Woo, Yu Kwon’s driver. It was a notification that Yu Kwon had arrived at the company.

Hearing the sound of the elevator arriving, Da Eun opened the secretary’s office door to greet Yu Kwon.

“Good morning, Director.”

No matter how many times she saw him, she couldn’t get used to his tall stature that imposed pressure, his well-toned muscular body, and his sculpture-like face that seemed devoid of humanity.

Yu Kwon, who was about to go straight inside, stopped and looked down at Da Eun. His downcast eyes cast deep shadows. A fresh scent that was neither light nor heavy touched her nose.

She tensed involuntarily under his piercing gaze.

“I doubt it.”

His low, resonant voice reached her ears. Da Eun licked her dry lips and opened her mouth. Until then, Yu Kwon’s gaze remained on her lips.

Da Eun felt strange at his teasing tone. Since their reunion, the two had consistently maintained boundaries. But his playful attitude made it feel as if they had returned to the past.

“You didn’t collect the wedding gift.”

Yu Kwon briefly replied, “Ah,” and sat on the sofa. Leaning back leisurely, he slowly began to speak as if there was no rush.

“I regret it. The food was terribly tasteless.”

What, he ate that? At that time? Da Eun’s eyes widened. Soon after, her face flushed red.

He really came.

It felt like her shortcomings had been exposed. No, her shortcomings had actually been exposed. Thinking of Yu Kwon who must have laughed bitterly watching the wedding hall turn into chaos, not only her face but her entire body burned with shame.

She didn’t want to show such a sight to him of all people, but she had shown him the worst possible appearance.

“I was going to return it anyway…”

Da Eun took out the shopping bag from her bag and handed it over. Her movements were as unnatural as a broken robot.

Yu Kwon took out a note from inside and read it, then let out a small laugh.

There was a note…? While she was blankly staring at Yu Kwon, her judgment slowed, his lips parted.

“Elder sister, I’m sorry. I’ll definitely succeed and pay you back double.”

The term ‘elder sister’, which would never come from Yu Kwon, sent chills down her spine.

‘No way, it can’t be. It won’t be. Song Da Hyun can’t be that rotten!’

Da Eun moved like lightning to snatch the shopping bag from Yu Kwon. Then she was disappointed. Inside the envelope was vacuum-packed rice.

“How nice, Secretary Song. You’ll soon have 200 million won.”

It was the moment her reason snapped.

“I apologize. There seems to have been some misunderstanding.”

Da Eun’s fingers trembled slightly as she retrieved the shopping bag. In the process, a few grains of rice fell onto the desk. Da Eun picked up the rice grains with shaking hands. Yu Kwon’s face, which she glimpsed, was spread with a smile.

‘You’re laughing? Is this funny?’

Her body, which had been hot until just a moment ago, cooled down. Leaving a word that she would be excused for a moment, Da Eun quickly ran to the bathroom. She locked the bathroom door and called Da Hyun.

As if it was natural, the phone was turned off. It was the same even after dozens of calls. As the number of attempts increased, her anger gradually rose.

The money was still there when she checked in the morning. When did it change? As she thought carefully about when it could have happened, something came to mind.

“Da Eun, help your mother. Da Hyun put the jar up so high. Oh my, I need to make plum syrup.”

It wasn’t Da Hyun’s solo crime. There was an accomplice. While Da Eun was taking out the glass jar at Geum Suk’s request, Da Hyun had switched the shopping bags in her bag.

Da Eun called Geum Suk. At first, Geum Suk didn’t answer, but she picked up on the second try.

—…Uh, daughter.

Her voice was awkward. She wanted to answer brightly as if nothing had happened, but it wasn’t that nothing had happened, so it was a voice that left a trace of guilt.

“Mom, Da Hyun isn’t answering his phone?”

—Uh, um. You know he doesn’t usually answer his phone well. Wh-what’s wrong?

Geum Suk stuttered. As certainty set in, Da Eun’s chest tightened. She gritted her teeth.

“If you don’t bring back the 100 million won right now, I’m going to report this to the police.”

—Da Eun, please. It was me, I got greedy and did it.

“Really? Then put aside your greed now and bring the money back.”

There was no answer. Growing impatient, Da Eun called out to Geum Suk again.

“Mom.”

—Da Eun, I’m really sorry, but can’t we trust our Da Hyun just this once? The guy he’s working with seems really decent.

When Da Eun didn’t respond, Geum Suk continued.

—He buys goods from Dongdaemun and sells them abroad, and it seems quite profitable. He earns about 10 million won a month. He says he’ll only charge for the purchases and introduce all the business contacts. This time it seems certain.

“I might believe it if it was just once or twice. Mom, do you still trust him?”

—That guy is very friendly. He’s just the type who’s made it on his own.

“If con artists walked around with ‘con artist’ written on their faces, who would fall for it?”

—You know I can tell a bit about people’s faces. I’m sure about this one, this time…

“Then why didn’t you know Go Young Hoon was trash?”

Geum Suk fell silent. This was because she had pushed for Da Eun’s marriage, saying Young Hoon’s impression was too good.

Da Eun let out a long sigh before speaking.

“Mom, your daughter just called off her engagement. My head is still throbbing from being hit by a man, should I be backstabbed by my family again?”

—I’m sorry. I should have found a way to get the money myself, even if I had to sell my organs. No, if only the wedding had gone well, that money… If only it wasn’t for Ju Ri…!

“Enough, just stop and hold onto Song Da Hyun.”

Da Eun hung up the phone and banged her head against the wall. Thinking of Geum Suk limping to work to contribute even a little to the living expenses, she couldn’t say harsher words.

Geum Suk’s leg injury was because of Da Eun. If she hadn’t stubbornly insisted on going to find her father who had abandoned her, her leg would have been fine. Nevertheless, Geum Suk never blamed her even once.

Just imagining Geum Suk walking with a limp made Da Eun’s heart ache. It was the reason she couldn’t cut ties with her good-for-nothing brother and was swayed by Geum Suk.

After letting out a long sigh, she got up, brushing herself off as if nothing had happened. Because a harsh and cold-hearted superior wouldn’t care about others’ circumstances.

Just as she was about to open the bathroom stall to leave, she heard giggling laughter.