Gang Jin had always lived his life achieving his goals. Even when the goals seemed impossible, he did not hesitate to use any means or methods. If there was someone who hindered his goals, he would mercilessly remove them and take their place. Such actions were all too easy for him and ultimately gave him great satisfaction.

So, for the vice president position, he had to approach the fight with Min Joo Hyuk strategically. Everyone naturally thought Joo Hyuk would be the next vice president, but the game had to be watched until the very end.

It was always the villain’s role to flip the table in a pleasant manner.

It’s no fun when things go too smoothly.

Gang Jin smiled, raising one corner of his mouth. At that moment, the cell phone in his pocket vibrated. Checking the screen, Se Yoon’s name appeared. Gang Jin frowned deeply, sighed for a moment, then pressed the answer button.

“Yes, honey. What’s up?”

Gang Jin used the most affectionate voice of a lover, more than anyone else in the world.

***

“Oh, my baby. You must be tired from taking care of the child.”

Hyun Sook placed Ji Soo’s calf on her thigh and diligently massaged it. Today, as usual, she had played with Seo Hoo. Hide-and-seek, tag, red light green light. They played the three games alternately without rest.

“You can stop now. What strength does grandmother have to give a massage?”

“Are you looking down on grandmother because she’s old?”

“No, that’s not it. I’m just worried it might be hard on grandmother.”

“What’s so hard about making my baby comfortable? Not hard at all.”

“Here.”

Ji Soo picked up a piece of Korean melon with a fork and brought it to Hyun Sook’s mouth. Hyun Sook chewed the melon without taking her hands off Ji Soo’s calf.

“But isn’t it too hard? Just working life on weekdays is exhausting enough, but taking care of a child on weekends too, I’m worried it might be too much.”

“You’ll get used to it as you do it.”

Ji Soo thought of Seo Hoo’s face, who had fallen asleep like an angel. The more she looked at him, the more he reminded her of Eun Soo’s features. Eun Soo was also an energetic troublemaker like Seo Hoo.

Seeing Seo Hoo and being reminded of Eun Soo gave her mixed feelings.

“I think you made a good choice. Seeing that friend makes me think of Eun Soo too, which is nice.”

He seems like a gift from heaven, that child.

Ji Soo, who had attached excessive meaning, nodded her head.

There is a reason for everything. She believed there must be meaning in meeting Seo Hoo as well.

“Then, where is the child’s mother?”

“Well… I think she went on a long business trip.”

Even though it was Hyun Sook, Ji Soo felt it was impolite to divulge all the details about Seo Hoo’s situation. So she had no choice but to brush it off like this.

“A long business trip? Leaving the child and going on a long trip? For how long?”

“I don’t know the specifics.”

Ji Soo shook her head awkwardly.

“She didn’t abandon the child and leave the house, did she?”

“What are you saying, grandmother? Don’t say such terrible things. It’s not like that.”

“Okay, if you say so. Anyway, the mother needs to finish her business trip and return quickly. To a child, their mother is their whole world.”

“Right. Then Seo Hoo can become even brighter.”

Ji Soo sincerely hoped and prayed that Seo Hoo’s mother would safely return to his side. So that Seo Hoo could receive the abundant love from his mother that he had been missing.

“Grandmother, let me massage your shoulders now.”

“It’s okay, you’ve already exhausted yourself all day, what massage are you talking about?”

“I’m young so I only have strength! Don’t say that and come on.”

Unable to resist Ji Soo’s persistence, Hyun Sook turned her back. Ji Soo put all her strength into massaging Hyun Sook’s thin shoulders. Hyun Sook, who had been quietly thinking about something, opened her mouth with some difficulty.

“Ji Soo.”

“Yes, grandmother.”

Hyun Sook reached out her left hand and stroked the back of Ji Soo’s hand resting on her right shoulder.

“Don’t think strange thoughts while taking care of someone else’s child. When it was time for your family to go, that’s how it happened, it’s not your fault, you know that well, right?”

“……”

“I said it’s absolutely not your fault!”

“……”

“Come on, answer me.”

“Okay, grandmother. It’s not my fault.”

“Yes, always think that way, you understand?”

Ji Soo, her lips tightly closed, slowly nodded her head. Her eyes burned hotly, blurring her vision.

“Grandmother, why are your shoulders so stiff? Just massaging them won’t be enough!”

Ji Soo, who had unnecessarily raised her voice, put more strength into her hands.

***

On the bus to Joo Hyuk’s house, Ji Soo’s head was headbanging back and forth. Last night, she had stayed up late talking with Hyun Sook and fell asleep, so it was a real struggle to open her eyes in the morning. But she had to leave the house to take care of Seo Hoo.

I want to rest, just for today. Having this thought on only the second day was ridiculous.

Ji Soo thought it was utterly absurd, even as she was drowsily falling asleep.

Ding dong.

Ji Soo pressed the doorbell. The door opened and the first face that appeared was not Joo Hyuk’s, but Seo Hoo’s.

“Oh? Seo Hoo, hello?”

Bam. The front door closed just like that.

What was that, just now?

Blinking her eyes several times in front of the tightly closed door, the door opened slightly again.

“Seo Hoo, let noona come-”

Bam.

The door closed again. Now that she looked closely, it seemed he was playing a prank on her, not making a mistake.

“Seo Hoo, you have to at least open the door for noona first. I’ll play with you once I’m inside.”

“No, it’s fine. Just go away today.”

“That won’t do. I made a promise with your uncle. To take care of you.”

“I don’t want to, I’m going to sleep so just go!”

Maybe he hadn’t slept well, but his voice was full of irritation.

But we parted on good terms yesterday. You said you had fun…

Ji Soo was only perplexed by Seo Hoo’s behavior which was hard to grasp.

“Okay, Min Seo Hoo. Then just open the door a little. Noona has something to say.”

“……”

At Ji Soo’s words that she had something to say, the door slowly started to open again. Not missing that moment, Ji Soo wedged her foot into the gap and swung it wide open.

“You got tricked by noona, Seo Hoo.”

“Hey!”

“Uh-uh! What did noona say? To speak nicely, right?”

“……”

It was Seo Hoo, who was happy to see her but trying hard to hide it by pursing his lips. That sight was so childlike and cute that it made her laugh.

“Seo Hoo, did you sleep well last night?”

“…Yeah. I woke up a few times.”

“I see. You must still be sleepy?”

“Yes, sleepy.”

Only then did Seo Hoo yawn, rubbing his eyes.

“But where is your uncle?”

“Don’t know.”

He wouldn’t have left Seo Hoo alone and gone out. He must be somewhere in the house. Ji Soo, not thinking much of it, naturally took Seo Hoo’s hand and went inside.

“Vice President, I’m here.”

She greeted Joo Hyuk with her voice, but there was no reply from anywhere in the house.

“Vice President!”

Somehow, a strange feeling crept over her.

“Seo Hoo, noona will spread jam on bread for you, so can you eat it by yourself?”

“Yes, put jam too.”

“I’ll put a lot of strawberry jam.”

She spread strawberry jam on two slices of bread and put them on a plate. Seo Hoo started eating, holding the bread with his little hands.

Ji Soo knocked on Joo Hyuk’s bedroom door. There was no response. Even after knocking several times, there was no answer.

‘Did he really leave Seo Hoo alone and go out?’

No matter what, this is too much. He could have waited until I arrived. This is really unacceptable, she thought. But then again, what could she do about it, she wondered.

Ji Soo returned to Seo Hoo. Seo Hoo had already eaten about half of the bread.

“Seo Hoo, what do you want to do with noona today?”

“Not playing.”

Does it reset every day that passes…?

We definitely had a good time yesterday. Thinking we became extremely close and that Seo Hoo had opened up to me must have been entirely my own misunderstanding.

“I see… You’re saying you won’t play with noona?”

“Yes, go back home.”

“Hmm… I was going to play hide-and-seek with you for a long time today, which you like, but I guess I have to go back now.”

A small frown formed on Seo Hoo’s forehead. He wanted to throw a fit, but he also wanted to play hide-and-seek. He seemed to be pondering quite seriously.

“Then I can’t do it. I’ll get going, Seo Hoo. Bye!”

“……”

“Bye!”

“…Don’t go!”

Seo Hoo shouted.

“Uh-uh, if you speak so rudely, noona will really go. How do you say it when making a request?”

“……”

“Seo Hoo, noona wants to hear you say it properly.”

“Please play hide-and-seek with me.”

A small smile hung on Ji Soo’s lips.

“Okay, great, Seo Hoo. Let’s play together.”

After roughly cleaning up the table, she started playing hide-and-seek with Seo Hoo. It was a two-story house with 7 rooms and 4 bathrooms. There were countless places to hide.

Ji Soo had already been enthusiastically playing hide-and-seek with Seo Hoo for well over an hour. Then she opened the door to the bathroom on the first floor, which had a jacuzzi. It was a place she had never entered before.

Oh my gosh. What kind of bathroom is larger than our master bedroom? No, it’s larger than our whole house combined.

Ji Soo’s mouth fell open at the size of the bathroom she had never even imagined. Why is there even a powder room in the bathroom?

Thinking it was really amazing, her eyes rolled back without her knowing. Passing the powder room and turning right, Ji Soo’s eyes trembled endlessly at an ominous feeling.

What the…?

Slowly, she took a step towards the jacuzzi. Pulling back the tightly closed shower curtain… Joo Hyuk’s limp figure was revealed.

Startled, Ji Soo took a step back and fell over.

The limp, dangling arm looked ominous. Gathering her confused thoughts, Ji Soo forced out her voice.

“Uh, Vice President… Are you okay?”

“……”

“Vice President… Please wake up.”

Ji Soo’s voice was almost sobbing. Ji Soo, who barely got up, approached Joo Hyuk again. Next to the jacuzzi was an empty bottle of whiskey. It seemed Joo Hyuk had downed a whole bottle of whiskey inside the jacuzzi.

The water in the jacuzzi where Joo Hyuk’s body was submerged was already cold as ice.

He can’t be… dead, can he?

“Vice President, please come to your senses.”

Ji Soo brought her face close to Joo Hyuk’s nose. She couldn’t be sure if she could hear his breath, if he was breathing at all.

“Vice President…”

She was so scared and terrified that she felt like tears would well up. But Ji Soo held on to her senses as much as possible and brought her palm to Joo Hyuk’s face. At that moment, Joo Hyuk’s tightly closed eyes popped open.