Tae Kyung ruffled his hair and went back into the creative room. He was very annoyed by Min Seop hovering around Seo Ha. Moreover, he didn’t like how close Min Seop and Min Joon seemed to be.

It’s not like I can always be by Seo Ha’s side. What should I do about this?

At this rate, I might really lose Seo Ha to Min Seop.

Losing her once was enough.

I can’t lose her twice. If I lose Seo Ha this time, it was obvious that I would spend days more painful than the last 5 years.

Tae Kyung sat in the creative room, watching Min Joon play with the coding robot.

Though Tae Kyung wasn’t affectionate or friendly, he carefully observed Min Joon’s appearance.

Yoon Hee, who had been watching the two from outside for a while, opened the door and came in.

“You were still here.”

“Hello, Director.”

“Mr. Han, you don’t seem busy today?”

“I’m busy, but not busy.”

Yoon Hee laughed at Tae Kyung’s words. Min Joon was deeply absorbed in the coding robot.

“It’s almost time to leave, so please take good care of Min Joon.”

“Yes. Don’t worry.”

As soon as Yoon Hee nodded and left the creative room, Seo Ha entered.

Min Joon ran to Seo Ha and hugged her.

“Mom!”

“Kim Min Joon!”

Seo Ha looked at Min Joon with a stern face. Min Joon’s face quickly became gloomy.

“How could you bother the coding teacher without Mom’s permission?”

“Who said he’s bothering me?”

Tae Kyung interjected in a displeased tone. Seo Ha held Min Joon tightly with a hardened expression.

“I’m sorry if the child was being fussy. And don’t indulge him like this, it’ll make him spoiled.”

“He wasn’t being fussy. What bad habits are you talking about?”

Min Joon looked back and forth between the two anxiously. Tae Kyung crossed his arms and stared straight at Seo Ha.

‘Where did the Kim Seo Ha who used to look at me softly go? Why have we become like this?’

Tae Kyung swallowed his bitter feelings. It was too late for regrets now. He just wanted to go back to how things were before.

“Min Joon has talent and is good at coding, so I let him do it. If a child has talent, you should nurture it.”

“I’ll handle it myself.”

“How are you going to handle it? Is it all solved by just keeping the child in kindergarten? Is raising a child just about dressing and putting them to sleep?”

Tae Kyung’s scathing words stabbed Seo Ha’s heart.

Seo Ha opened her mouth, trembling.

“You… What do you know to speak so recklessly?”

“Even if I don’t know, leaving Min Joon like this is a loss for both the child and the country. We need to cultivate talent. I’m in the education business. Of course I’m going to discover and support talented children I teach.”

“Please pay attention to other children besides Min Joon.”

“There’s no one as good as Min Joon.”

Tae Kyung was subtly brazen. Seo Ha was dumbfounded.

“And, to protect my talent, I’ll pick him up when coming to Yangpyeong from now on. Tell that Tun Tun or whatever teacher not to worry about it.”

“Mr. Han Tae Kyung!”

Seo Ha shouted, losing her temper.

Tae Kyung urged Min Joon with a sly look.

Min Joon swallowed hard and gently tugged at Seo Ha’s clothes. Seo Ha looked down at Min Joon.

“Mom, I want to go home with the coding teacher…”

“What?”

Seo Ha was flustered by Min Joon’s unexpected words and couldn’t continue speaking.

“See. My talent wants it. Get ready and come out.”

Tae Kyung acted smugly and winked slightly at Min Joon. Min Joon bit his lip and hid his smile.

One of Seo Ha’s eyebrows twisted strangely.

Seo Ha wondered when the two had secretly plotted behind her back.

On the other hand, she was conflicted about whether to just watch them grow closer or try to separate them.

‘Is blood really that undeniable?’

Seo Ha sighed secretly.

Her heart ached as she looked at the two men who looked exactly alike.

[This is the timeline separator]

Hyung Jin threw the cigarette he was smoking on the ground and stubbed it out with his foot. Even though a long time had passed since Tae Kyung entered the kindergarten, he still hadn’t come out.

It was past 6 PM, but since he hadn’t come out, hunger and irritation were creeping up.

“If I had known it would be like this, I should have bought something to eat.”

He couldn’t leave his spot for fear of missing Tae Kyung.

“Damn it. What the hell is he doing in there for so long?”

While Hyung Jin was grumbling, a text message arrived from Seung Ae.

[Where are you now? What happened with the money?]

“Always in such a rush, geez.”

Hyung Jin grumbled but sent a text message back to Seung Ae.

[I’m in Yangpyeong. Tailing Han Tae Kyung, I’ll contact you later.]

Hyung Jin spat out the phlegm rising in his throat onto the ground.

As Hyung Jin was stretching his stiff body, a large group of teachers came out of the kindergarten.

Tae Kyung was among them.

A familiar face followed behind. It was Seo Ha.

“Haha. Found you. So this is where you were hiding. Kim Seo Ha.”

And a boy who looked exactly like Han Tae Kyung.

Seo Ha and the child got into Han Tae Kyung’s car.

Hyung Jin quickly got into his own car and followed Han Tae Kyung.

Tae Kyung’s car stopped in front of an apartment building.

Seo Ha and the child got out. Tae Kyung got out too.

Hyung Jin also got out of his car and hid in the shadows of the building, listening to their conversation.

“Kid. Listen well to your mom.”

“Yes, teacher. Thank you.”

The little boy called Tae Kyung ‘teacher’, not ‘dad’.

Hyung Jin was puzzled.

Anyone could see the child was Tae Kyung’s, but Tae Kyung seemed unaware of this fact.

The look in his eyes towards his own child was different in temperature.

“You don’t have to bring us home. We lived well without you.”

“It’s not for you. I’m investing in the talent I’ve set my eyes on. Don’t misunderstand. You think I still get worked up just seeing you?”

Tae Kyung spoke coldly to Seo Ha. The child was holding tightly onto Seo Ha’s clothes.

“Mom. Don’t fight with the teacher.”

At the child’s words, Seo Ha’s tense shoulders relaxed.

“We’re not fighting. Anyway, you have a long way to go, so hurry up and go.”

“Kim Min Joon.”

Despite Seo Ha’s dismissal, Tae Kyung called the child’s name. And he whispered something in his ear.

Joy bloomed on the child’s face.

The child immediately looked at his mother’s expression and nodded slightly towards Tae Kyung.

Seo Ha had a very displeased expression.

In contrast, a smile flashed across Tae Kyung’s face. With his usual emotionless face, he tossed a farewell to Seo Ha and got into his car.

Seeing this, Seo Ha took the child and went into the apartment building before Tae Kyung’s car had even disappeared.

A sinister smile spread across Hyung Jin’s face at the chilly atmosphere between the two.

Indeed, the heavens haven’t abandoned me yet.

The fact that there was a child between the two would be of great help to him.

Ring ring ring ring.

Before the phone could ring more than a few times, Seung Ae answered and spoke first.

− Did you find out anything?

“I found Kim Seo Ha.”

− What? How? Where is she now? Don’t tell me she’s with Han Tae Kyung?

Hyung Jin grinned as he answered Seung Ae.

“She’s in Yangpyeong. Looks like Han Tae Kyung found Kim Seo Ha. And the bigger news is, Kim Seo Ha had that child.”

− That child?

Frustrated that she didn’t immediately understand his words, he added an explanation.

“The one from 5 years ago, the one we failed. Looks like she had Han Tae Kyung’s child.”

− What? If the HY Chairman finds out, what if he demands we return the money?

“But it seems Han Tae Kyung doesn’t know it’s his child yet.”

− Didn’t you say he met the child?

“The atmosphere when they were talking was strange.”

A brilliant idea flashed through Hyung Jin’s mind. He hummed a tune, praising himself.

Meanwhile, Tae Kyung’s car didn’t head towards Seoul.

After confirming that the old foreign car following him had disappeared, Tae Kyung immediately took out his phone.

− Yes, sir.

“Choi Hyung Jin was following, so please take care of Ms. Kim Seo Ha’s security. And if Choi Hyung Jin or Jeon Seung Ae contact the Chairman or Ms. Kim Seo Ha, please let me know immediately.”

− Yes, I understand.

Tae Kyung hung up the phone and took a deep breath.

Probably for a while, Jeon Seung Ae and Choi Hyung Jin won’t move rashly if they know he’s sticking close to Seo Ha.

He wanted to protect Seo Ha somehow.

He didn’t know what happened 5 years ago, but in the end, Tae Kyung couldn’t protect her.

This time, he didn’t want to make that mistake.

He wanted to protect both Seo Ha and Min Joon.

[This is the timeline separator]

Tae Kyung’s car stopped in front of a real estate office. Tae Kyung strode into the real estate office with his long legs.

“Welcome.”

“I’m here to see properties in Somang Villa. Do you have any available?”

The real estate manager looked Tae Kyung up and down.

Then, tilting his head, he asked back.

“Um, are you referring to Somang Villa across the street?”

“Yes. Do you have any vacant units that can be moved into right away?”

The real estate manager couldn’t see any reason why Tae Kyung would be looking for a place like this.

The clothes he was wearing were an expensive suit, and the car parked outside was a luxury SUV. Customers dressed like this usually look for high-end villas or townhouses, but this wasn’t that kind of neighborhood.

“Are you sure you’ve come to the right place? Or is this for investment purposes?”

“I’ve come to the right place, and it’s a house for me to live in. I’d like to move in as soon as possible if I can.”

“Hmm. Right now, there are no available units in Somang Villa.”

“Then what about other places near Somang Villa?”

“There’s a vacant property in Ritz Village in the next neighborhood, but the size is quite large.”

“That doesn’t matter. Let’s make the contract right now.”

“What? Right now?”

The real estate manager’s eyes widened.

The neighborhood next to Somang Villa, separated by just one street, was an area where luxury villas were starting to be built. The Ritz Village that the manager mentioned to Tae Kyung was a high-end villa complex with only large units.

The manager hurriedly made a phone call somewhere. Tae Kyung was examining the neighborhood map hanging in the office.

Ritz Village wasn’t far from Somang Villa.

He liked the location.

The structure of the house or the sale price didn’t matter to Tae Kyung.

What mattered to him was being close to Seo Ha at all costs.

After hanging up the phone, the manager picked up his notebook and asked Tae Kyung.

“Would you like to see the house now?”

“Let’s make the contract first and then see it.”

Tae Kyung made the contract on the spot without even seeing the house. The real estate office manager seemed more flustered than Tae Kyung by the contract that was made as quick as lightning.

“You should be able to move in tomorrow after cleaning. Let’s go check it out now.”

“Alright.”

Tae Kyung obediently followed the manager.

Come to think of it, he thought it would be nice if the structure was convenient for Seo Ha to use.

The house they arrived at felt empty because it was too spacious. Overall, it had a modern feel with black and white tones.

Tae Kyung glanced around the house and nodded.

The manager swallowed hard and watched Tae Kyung’s reaction.

“Thank you for your hard work, manager.”

“No, thank you for making the contract so quickly.”

The manager handed over the key card and a few other things before leaving.

Tae Kyung looked around the house he was left alone in and went out to the terrace.

Standing on the terrace, he could see Somang Villa where Seo Ha lived in the distance.

Even though they were so close, the fact that he couldn’t run to her, and the thought that the distance in their hearts was much further, made Tae Kyung’s eyes sink deep and dark.