“Diamond… box?”

Quite flustered, Se Eun quickly reached out and snatched the paper.

It was indeed herself in the printed photo.

However, one strange thing caught her eye.

“This box is…”

That’s right. The ‘missing diamond’ box they were all talking about.

It was the pumpkin box that Mo Na had brought to her yesterday evening.

Mo Na, who had pushed her back to the sample room, asked her to return the box to where it was.

When she actually went, it was difficult to find the location she was told, so she had gone back and forth at the door.

Of course, it was news to her that this box was originally a diamond box.

Everyone’s eyes were fixed on her lips, but Se Eun couldn’t continue speaking.

Even if she tried to uncover the truth from Mo Na here, would she tell the truth?

She would surely deny knowing anything.

It had always been the same pattern.

Since childhood, Mo Na had persistently bullied Se Eun.

Scratching her pretty face, pinching her tender skin, and even deliberately burning her long hair.

Tearing her clothes to shreds was a common occurrence.

When Ko San scolded her asking what happened, before Se Eun could answer, Mo Na would quickly make excuses about falling outside or rolling down.

When she got a bit older, she would cleverly hit only in places Ko San couldn’t see.

And it wasn’t just violence.

Shin Mo Na knew better than anyone how to kill the spirit rather than the body. Just like now.

At that moment, Jang Ha Yeon entered the office with a perplexed expression.

“Mo Na. What’s this about? The diamond is missing?”

“Ah, CEO. Well…”

Mo Na deliberately glanced at Se Eun.

Soon, Jang Ha Yeon picked up the paper in Se Eun’s trembling hand with a questioning look.

It didn’t take long for her eyes to widen.

“Se Eun. What’s going on? Did you take this box outside? Diamonds can’t be removed from the sample room without my permission.”

This was also news to her.

However, Ha Yeon’s tone was more concerned than accusatory.

At that moment, Se Eun felt defiant.

She didn’t want to create prejudice, at least not in the woman who believed in her inadequate self and gave her this opportunity.

Let alone a false accusation of theft.

“CEO. Actually…”

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry!”

“…?”

Surprised by the sudden outburst, Se Eun’s eyes widened.

Mo Na, who had cut off her words, was bowing at a 90-degree angle, apologizing to Jang Ha Yeon and the team members.

Mo Na’s face was full of pathos as she quickly raised her head.

Then Mo Na began to plead on Se Eun’s behalf.

“With the circumstances like this, what excuse could there be? I’ll apologize on behalf of my sister!”

“Mo, Mo Na…”

Mo Na turned to Se Eun with a pitiful expression.

However, in those eyes was a clear hint of threat.

Don’t even think of contradicting.

The familiar pattern of lifelong violence made her breath catch in her throat.

“Se Eun unnie doesn’t have much. Since grandfather doesn’t really approve of her… She’s newlywed, so she probably wanted to dress up and had a lot to spend money on. I’m sorry. I should have taken better care of things… It’s all my fault.”

Now even sniffling, Mo Na patted Se Eun’s small shoulders as if pitying her.

“I’ll compensate for the diamond on behalf of my sister. It’s only right as her younger sibling. So… everyone, please keep this a secret and don’t let it leak outside. I beg you.”

Although it wasn’t the first or second time she had fallen for such hypocrisy, Se Eun was simply devastated.

What was more devastating was that she didn’t have the ability to compensate for the diamond’s value.

To think she had to struggle in the trap Mo Na had set, only to climb out using the rope Mo Na threw.

“Hmm… I understand for now. This is just between us, and nothing’s been confirmed yet, so everyone keep quiet about this.”

“Yes, CEO.”

Unsatisfied with Jang Ha Yeon’s conclusion, Mo Na’s expression was not good.

She probably wanted to brand Se Eun a thief right then and there.

“And Se Eun, come to my office. Everyone else, return to your seats.”

It was truly a nightmarish situation.

As tears fell to the floor with a plop, Se Eun realized she was crying.

*

“What happened, Se Eun?”

“…”

“I called you separately because I wanted to hear directly from you. It seemed difficult to talk in front of everyone earlier. It’s okay, just tell me comfortably what happened from start to finish.”

Jang Ha Yeon stared at Se Eun intently.

At the gentleness in that gaze, tears continued to fall despite her efforts to wipe them away.

“Here, a handkerchief.”

“…Thank you.”

“Don’t cry too much. Those diamonds, they’re just samples anyway, not top quality. Besides, I don’t think for a moment that you stole the diamonds. The company won’t go bankrupt just because they’re missing.”

Saying this, Jang Ha Yeon spun her chair half a turn.

As if considering the crying Se Eun, she fixed her gaze on the wall and continued speaking.

“The problem is whether others think like me. The design team isn’t that big, and I’m worried you might feel uncomfortable.”

“CEO… I’m sorry. I’m really sorry…”

“Oh dear, what do you have to be sorry for, Se Eun.”

Hic, Se Eun finally broke into audible sobs.

When she first entered this room with her, she had expected Jang Ha Yeon to distrust her as well.

But Jang Ha Yeon truly didn’t seem to think Se Eun had done such a thing at all.

That was probably due to her deep trust in Ko Yeon Hwa, who had been her senior.

That point amplified the sorrow in Se Eun’s heart even more.

She wanted to explain.

That she hadn’t stolen it, that she had only been deceived by Shin Mo Na.

But ridiculously, what scared her more than being falsely accused of theft now was Mo Na’s retaliation.

When Jang Ha Yeon had called her, Mo Na had pressed down on her shoulder with a forceful hand and whispered to Se Eun.

‘If you don’t want grandfather to hear about this, keep your mouth shut.’

She was scared. Of the contemptuous looks, the physical abuse, and even worse hells.

In front of all that, Se Eun felt learned helplessness.

When would she be able to escape the shadow of the Ko San family?

She thought she had taken just one step forward, but she was still in prison.

*

“She left?”

Although he had come right at 6 o’clock, unexpectedly, Se Eun’s desk was empty.

The employee in the next seat nodded cautiously.

“Hmm…”

Sun Woo gazed at Se Eun’s seat intently.

The neatly organized desk without a single rough edge felt somehow empty today.

“Um…”

The employee who had just informed him of her absence hesitated for a moment before speaking to Sun Woo.

It was the employee who had been most delighted to receive the dessert he had brought last time.

“Yes? Did something happen to my wife?”

“Ah… No, it’s nothing.”

Saying this, the employee hurriedly turned away.

Puzzled, Sun Woo looked around and saw Shin Mo Na leaving through the door.

Hmm, Sun Woo let out a soft sigh.

It was understandable. The grip of an inherently evil being is not to be underestimated.

Since Se Eun wasn’t there anyway, there was no need to stay longer, so Sun Woo turned to leave.

The rabbit would probably be at home.

Sure enough, when he returned home, two pairs of shoes were neatly arranged.

However, Se Eun was nowhere to be seen.

Usually, she would rest in the living room waiting for dinner after work, but today her small silhouette couldn’t be found on the sofa.

“Yeon Se Eun.”

Calling her name, Sun Woo bounded up the stairs to the second floor.

An unexpected game of hide-and-seek had begun.

“Where are you. Yeon Se Eun.”

Sun Woo called her name as he moved step by step down the hallway.

He opened the bedroom door first, but Se Eun wasn’t there.

“Answer me. Yeon Se Eun. Where are you?”

Next was the room Se Eun used to use alone.

He gently opened the door, but she wasn’t there either.

It seemed like even the faint breath that could usually be felt no matter how far away was undetectable.

By this point, Sun Woo was getting anxious.

Surely she wouldn’t be hiding in the bathroom, and as for tracking her with Cho Bang, this young Shih Tzu was sound asleep.

The silence that had settled in the large house suddenly felt unfamiliar.

It was a strange feeling, considering this was the house he had kept alone when Se Eun was at work.

His heart ached with the loneliness that washed over him.

“Yeon Se Eun, Yeon Se Eun! Answer me, please.”

It hadn’t even been a few days since he had resolved to care but not to care too much.

Yet making that resolution seem futile, he felt like he would go crazy if he didn’t see Yeon Se Eun’s clear face right away.

It was an absurdly selfish feeling, but he wished that even if she was hurt, she would be hurt in front of him.

Finally, Sun Woo’s feet stopped in front of an old door.

That firmly closed room was Se Eun’s father’s room.

The always locked room with the piano.

But at this moment, Sun Woo knew. That this was where she was hiding.

So without hesitation, he opened that door.

As he opened the door, the light from the hallway gradually seeped into the dark interior.

With the curtains not even open, in the middle of the dark room, the ever-present piano.

Beneath that piano bench, something very familiar to Sun Woo caught his eye.

A fluffy white fur coat.

The lovely cloud-like fur coat she rarely took off even in spring.

Long, pitch-black curly hair was flowing over that white fur.

The moment he saw her alone in the darkness, hugging her small knees with her head buried.

Sun Woo realized.

That he had already become a prisoner of this white rabbit.

With a slight smile, Sun Woo announced his victory in this hide-and-seek.

And at the same time, his surrender to his emotions.

“Found you, my rabbit.”