“Did Tae Kyung sunbae really find you? How?”

– We ran into each other by chance. And now he comes to teach at our kindergarten every week.

“Hey! You should have told me about this earlier! Haa.”

– Well, I’ve been busy. Min Joon is sick and currently hospitalized.

“What? Why is Min Joon?”

Unlike Seo Ha speaking calmly, Hyo Jae was full of surprising news.

Hyo Jae felt upset that she couldn’t seem to be of any help to Seo Ha.

– He slipped at the swimming pool and got a concussion. They say it’s not serious. But the child keeps complaining of headaches.

“Does Tae Kyung sunbae know too?”

– Yes. He came to the hospital with us.

Hyo Jae put her hand to her forehead.

How should she handle this? Could it be that Tae Kyung has already figured it out?

Hyo Jae’s mind became complicated.

It seemed best for both her friend Seo Ha and the cute Min Joon not to get involved with Tae Kyung. Hyo Jae had seen firsthand how cruel both the HY Group and Seung Ae, Seo Ha’s birth mother, could be.

Hyo Jae asked in a voice filled with worry.

“Does he know that Min Joon is Tae Kyung sunbae’s child?”

– No. I denied it. He thinks it’s another man’s child.

Hyo Jae felt relieved by Seo Ha’s answer, but also a sense of pity.

She knew well how much Tae Kyung had loved Seo Ha.

She had heard through Jung Hoo how broken Tae Kyung had been.

However, Seo Ha was more precious to her than Tae Kyung. So she never told Seo Ha anything about how broken and lost Tae Kyung had been.

For fear that Seo Ha might go back to Tae Kyung.

“I see. But I still feel bad about it. It’s sad that he might marry someone else while his own child is right there. How absurd would he feel if he knew?”

Seo Ha didn’t say anything.

Hyo Jae sighed and continued speaking.

“Anyway, I got it. I’ll firmly deny knowing anything if Tae Kyung sunbae asks me. Your mother hasn’t come looking for you, has she?”

– Not yet.

“That’s a relief. I was worried about what would happen if your mother found you too, since Tae Kyung sunbae already found you.”

Hyo Jae breathed a sigh of relief. She calmed down somewhat and promised to call again later.

“I’ll call you when I’m heading home. Take good care of Min Joon.”

– Okay. I’ll be waiting for your call.

After hearing Seo Ha’s goodbye, Hyo Jae put her phone in her bag. She fixed her makeup and checked her appearance before leaving the bathroom.

A moment later, the door of the last stall in the bathroom opened and Yoo Na came out.

Yoo Na’s pretty face twisted into a grim expression.

[This is the timeline separator]

Tae Kyung had his characteristic languid expression. It was Hyo Jae whose lips were dry with nervousness.

Hyo Jae didn’t understand why she had to tremble when she hadn’t really done anything wrong, but the tension was instinctive.

She felt like a rabbit placed in front of a beast of prey.

She seemed to think she should make the first move, so she spoke first.

“What is it that you’re curious about?”

“……”

Tae Kyung didn’t answer and kept his eyes fixed on Hyo Jae.

Hyo Jae felt goosebumps rise. It felt like she could be devoured at any moment.

“It’s related to Seo Ha, right?”

Unable to wait for Tae Kyung, Hyo Jae ended up asking again.

Only then did Tae Kyung take a sip of coffee and slowly open his mouth.

“5 years ago. The reason Seo Ha disappeared. You know, don’t you?”

As expected.

Hyo Jae felt somewhat relieved since it was the question she had anticipated, but she couldn’t easily let her guard down.

Tae Kyung was not an easy person to deal with. If she made one wrong move, she might end up talking about Seo Ha.

“I-I don’t know. How could I know when I can’t even contact her? You said you met Seo Ha, right?”

“You can’t contact her?”

“Where is Seo Ha now? That girl, she doesn’t even contact me. She’s not really a friend, honestly.”

Hyo Jae swallowed hard as she tried to play it off. She made up a lie that seemed natural enough, but she couldn’t fool Tae Kyung. Tae Kyung hung a sardonic smile on the corner of his mouth.

“It’s all written on your face. Don’t lie.”

“W-what do you mean I’m lying!”

Hyo Jae’s heart was pounding so hard her ears were ringing. Her voice rose without her realizing it, and she quickly clamped her mouth shut again.

“5 years ago, did Seo Ha meet the Chairman?”

“……”

“As you know, I’m quite persistent. Plus, I have a lot of time today.”

“Huu.”

Hyo Jae let out a sigh.

It seemed Tae Kyung had come prepared today. Unlike him leisurely sipping his coffee, Hyo Jae’s legs were shaking.

Tae Kyung chuckled at the sight of Hyo Jae like this.

“Anyone watching would think I’m about to eat you. Relax and talk comfortably.”

‘No, you look plenty capable of eating me right now!’

Hyo Jae secretly glanced at Tae Kyung, trying not to be obvious.

She cautiously began to speak.

“From what I heard, that’s not the case. As far as I know, she never met the Chairman.”

‘As long as I don’t mention Min Joon, it should be fine.’

She knew well enough that there was no use pretending in front of Tae Kyung.

In that case, it seemed better to tell him a bit and then run away.

At this point, when he had already met Seo Ha, how could she stop him?

Tae Kyung raised one eyebrow as if surprised.

“Then?”

“I don’t know the details either. Seo Ha said she was leaving to escape from her mother.”

“Mother?”

“Yes. You know well too, sunbae. That her birth mother isn’t much of a mother.”

Hyo Jae frowned as if upset. Then she sighed and continued speaking. It felt like she was using up a year’s worth of sighs in one day.

“She left without telling me where she was going, saying her birth mother might find her. She was worried her birth mother might go to you, sunbae.”

“Then, was there perhaps no other man?”

“Another man? Well, I don’t know anything about that. I can’t say.”

Hyo Jae’s eyes shook greatly. Tae Kyung didn’t miss that.

‘Could the reason for Hyo Jae’s panic be that Seo Ha had another man?’

Tae Kyung felt like his heart was being torn apart. Just the thought of Seo Ha having another man was this painful.

Until meeting Hyo Jae, he had even harbored doubts that Min Joon might not be his child.

The child resembled him too much to be a coincidence.

Back then, he had been diligent about contraception for the young Seo Ha’s sake, so there was no way a baby could have been conceived.

But, if by any chance, if Min Joon was his child.

If that were true.

He didn’t want to hear any more from Hyo Jae.

He became afraid of what terrible things she might say. Afraid she might say there was another man.

Cowardly as it was, he no longer wanted to know more here.

Tae Kyung slowly closed his eyes and opened them again.

“That’s enough. That’ll do.”

“Yes.”

Hyo Jae held back her words. She was worried that saying more might give herself away.

Fortunately, Tae Kyung downed his now cold coffee in one gulp and stood up.

“Take your time finishing and go.”

Hyo Jae leaned back against the chair, relaxing her rigidly straight back as if in relief.

In contrast, Tae Kyung’s mouth tasted bitter.

Even he had to admit that sometimes it seemed believable that Min Joon could be his son.

Tae Kyung got in his car and leaned his forehead against the steering wheel.

One side of his chest hurt terribly. As if someone had slashed it with a rough-edged knife.

Not for a single moment had he doubted Seo Ha. Seo Ha had been everything to him, and he thought he was everything to Seo Ha too.

If Min Joon was his son, why was Seo Ha so adamant in denying it?

What was Seo Ha hiding from him? It was clear she was hiding something, and he had a feeling it was related to Min Joon.

Tae Kyung called a university senior who ran a genetic research institute.

“Sunbae, I have one favor to ask. Could you do a genetic test?”

“A genetic test?”

“Yes. I need a paternity test.”

In the end, a single seed of doubt had sprouted and grown vigorously in Tae Kyung’s heart.

He wanted to see Seo Ha. He was afraid of the paternity test results. Perhaps that’s why he wanted to see Seo Ha even more.

Tae Kyung set the navigation destination to Yangpyeong.

[This is the timeline separator]

Yoo Na couldn’t even focus on Song Joo’s wedding. It was a place she didn’t want to be, but she was there to make her relationship with Tae Kyung known to as many people as possible.

So that Tae Kyung couldn’t think of anything else, so she could hold onto Tae Kyung’s ankle.

However, she discovered an unexpected fact.

“Kim Seo Ha, you cunning fox.”

The fact that Kim Seo Ha had Tae Kyung’s child. That was a risk factor that could make her lose Tae Kyung.

How much effort had Yoo Na put into Tae Kyung.

Yoo Na gnawed at her fingernails.

She didn’t even notice the stones falling off her beautifully decorated nails. Displeased even by the fallen stones, she frowned deeply.

“Yoo Na. The kids are saying we should get coffee together since it’s been a while, you’re coming too, right?”

A college classmate she hadn’t seen in a long time approached Yoo Na friendly. Yoo Na quickly composed her expression.

“Oh my, I have somewhere to go with Tae Kyung. I’m so sorry, what should I do?”

“Can’t be helped. So that’s why I couldn’t see Tae Kyung either.”

Yoo Na was bothered by the comment that Tae Kyung had also left early.

‘Did he go to Yangpyeong again? Is Kim Seo Ha really there?’

“Let’s meet up next time and eat something delicious.”

“Sure. Let’s see Tae Kyung then too. It’s hard to even see Han Tae Kyung’s face these days, he’s doing so well.”

Yoo Na put on an apologetic expression and made excuses on Tae Kyung’s behalf.

“Tae Kyung is very busy. I’ll apologize for him.”

“Why are you doing it? Han Tae Kyung should do it himself. Is your fiancé so busy you can’t even date properly? You should get married soon.”

“Yeah. There’s still a lot to do. Tae Kyung’s business is just starting to take off. Well, I’ll be going now.”

Yoo Na hurriedly left her seat. She needed to confirm with her own eyes.

The next morning, Yoo Na deliberately called her team leader in a hoarse voice.

“Team leader. I’m so sorry. I’m really not feeling well.”

– Oh no, oh no. Don’t worry about work and get plenty of rest to recover quickly. Make sure to eat well!

“Yes. Thank you. You’re really the only one I can count on, team leader.”

– Aw, you always say such nice things. Get some rest.

Yoo Na finished the call in a voice that sounded like she was on her deathbed.

Though she had taken sick leave claiming to have the flu, she was actually heading to Yangpyeong.

She needed to see Tae Kyung’s child with her own eyes.

Tae Kyung’s child. It was unacceptable.

Yoo Na’s lips were swollen from how much she had bitten them.

Though she hadn’t slept properly all night, she didn’t even feel tired.

Yoo Na’s head was filled with thoughts of Tae Kyung’s child, whose face she didn’t even know.

If he resembled Tae Kyung, he must be quite handsome.

Yoo Na deeply regretted not having Tae Kyung’s child herself earlier.

That night, no matter how drunk he was, Tae Kyung hadn’t given in to her seduction at all.

‘Seo Ha… Where are you… Seo Ha…’

The name Tae Kyung called all night wasn’t Yoo Na, but Seo Ha. Tae Kyung, who treated her as if she didn’t exist, only showed a world of rich and diverse emotions in front of Seo Ha.

It was Seo Ha, not her, who made him laugh and made him cry.

Yoo Na couldn’t accept that.

What on earth did she lack compared to Kim Seo Ha!

How could Kim Seo Ha, who had nothing, have Han Tae Kyung?

She came from a more affluent family than Kim Seo Ha and could be a solid backing if Tae Kyung entered the succession battle for HY.

Her academic background and looks were no worse than Seo Ha’s, so why Kim Seo Ha and not her!

Yoo Na felt a surge of hatred and anger towards Tae Kyung, who never looked at her no matter what she did.

But whenever she saw Tae Kyung’s face, those harsh emotions disappeared, replaced by fondness and desperation.

She felt pathetic and her pride was hurt.

She had gone on several blind dates with other men arranged by her parents.

But it had to be Han Tae Kyung.

The more she met other people, the more she compared them to Tae Kyung and wanted to have him.

Gradually, her hatred, jealousy, and sense of inferiority towards Seo Ha, who had made it impossible for her to have Tae Kyung, swelled up.

Everything was because of Kim Seo Ha.

She thought that if Kim Seo Ha wasn’t around, Tae Kyung could be hers. If they just got married, she was confident she could hold onto Tae Kyung for life.

But she never expected Kim Seo Ha to backstab her like this.

Arriving near the kindergarten, she stared intently at the entrance from inside her car.

Yellow kindergarten buses arrived one by one.

And then the sight Yoo Na had been waiting for appeared.

Kim Seo Ha, and a boy who looked like a miniature version of Tae Kyung.

“Oh my God! N-no way!”