Tae Kyung was staring at the monitor with a face barely suppressing anger.

While Seo Ha was being harassed by reporters in Yangpyeong, Tae Kyung was struggling to resolve this situation.

Kyu Won clicked his tongue and tapped the desk.

Tae Kyung looked up with a sharp gaze at Kyu Won. His face seemed to be hoping for someone to provoke him and make him explode with anger.

“Did you find out what happened?”

“It seems to be Jin Yoo Na’s doing. The IDs from the community where it first spread, when I traced the IPs, they were from the same place.”

Tae Kyung showed the monitor screen to Kyu Won who approached him.

“Don’t tell me this address is?”

“Yes. Jin Yoo Na’s home address.”

“Jin Yoo Na? Ha! Surely Miss Yoo Na wouldn’t have gone as far as to report it herself?”

“I don’t know about that yet, but she’s been using multiple IDs to leave malicious comments and self-validate conspicuously.”

Tae Kyung answered dryly, but a cold anger was blazing inside him.

He couldn’t understand if the reason for tormenting Seo Ha to this extent was just because of their marriage, or if there was another reason.

However, it was clear that it was probably because he hadn’t properly settled things with Yoo Na.

If he had clearly settled things with Yoo Na, no, if he had firmly refused the arranged marriage and expressed his intentions, if he had brought Seo Ha back to his side sooner, would Seo Ha and Min Joon not have been hurt?

Tae Kyung’s heart ached with the endless hypotheticals and regret washing over him.

Kyu Won shook his head. Then he spoke calmly.

“You’ll handle the matters concerning Miss Yoo Na well, I’m sure. It seems too much to ask for leniency given how deeply Seo Ha and Min Joon have been hurt.”

“Kyu Won. Please send someone to Yangpyeong to look after Seo Ha and Min Joon. I want to go right away, but I think I need to deal with this first.”

“I’ve already sent someone to Yangpyeong. While you’re at it, officially announce your relationship with Miss Yoo Na. Staying silent won’t solve anything. If you’re firm about your feelings for Seo Ha, don’t leave any room for misunderstanding with Miss Yoo Na or the chairman.”

Tae Kyung was filled with regret at Kyu Won’s words of reproach.

“Yes. I should have done that.”

“You know best. This is business too. Your marriage could be not just the fruition of love, but the starting point of political and economic relations.”

“…I didn’t want to drag Seo Ha and Min Joon into this kind of thing.”

Tae Kyung rubbed his troubled face with both hands.

Even if he were to announce his relationship with Yoo Na now, the wounds Seo Ha and Min Joon have received won’t disappear or heal easily.

Rather, officially acknowledging their relationship would only be more tantalizing bait for gossipmongers.

It’s hard to say what malicious and fabricated articles they might churn out about Seo Ha and Min Joon, what rumors they might spread.

The power of Congressman Jin Chul Wook standing behind Yoo Na was too great for anyone to write negative articles about her. Seo Ha and Min Joon, who had no background to protect them, might be the only ones to be torn apart.

The difference in power between him and Congressman Jin Chul Wook was clear.

That made Tae Kyung feel even more miserable.

“First, we need to take down the articles.”

As Tae Kyung spoke with a sigh, Kyu Won also exhaled and offered his opinion.

“We can’t block all the articles going out to the media with our power alone. You know that. We might be able to stop small media outlets through personal connections, but it’s difficult to block all the posts coming up on major portal sites.”

“That’s why I’m worried.”

“Try asking the chairman for help. With hy Group’s power, it should be possible. We have to acknowledge our limits.”

It wasn’t that Tae Kyung didn’t acknowledge his limits.

Rather, at this moment, no one was more acutely aware of his limitations than Tae Kyung.

He was painfully realizing how weak and powerless he was.

He felt even more distressed at the thought of being a pathetic man who couldn’t protect the woman he loved and his child.

“You’re not refusing the chairman’s help because of pride, are you?”

“Pride? My pride isn’t the issue here. Seo Ha… left because of the chairman. Would the chairman help when he’s the one who made Seo Ha leave?”

“If you want to protect Seo Ha, protect her by any means necessary. You need to make the chairman help you somehow. Why do you keep sounding so weak, unlike yourself?”

It was an uncharacteristically weak appearance for Tae Kyung. Kyu Won stared at him for a while before quietly getting up and leaving the CEO’s office.

Tae Kyung remained in the office for a long time, lost in thought while staring out the window.

He picked up his phone and made a call.

“It’s me. I have something to talk about. I’ll come over there.”

Tae Kyung ended the call with a resolute expression.

Those who tie the knot must untie it. This was the phrase Tae Kyung was now engraving in his heart.

A cafe near HY Group headquarters.

Tae Kyung was sitting at a table with a view of the window unusually tinted blood-red by the setting sun.

Tae Kyung took a sip of the espresso con panna placed in front of him.

Tae Kyung drained the coffee in one gulp and licked the cream off his lips. Then he carelessly wiped his mouth again with a tissue.

Yoo Na, watching him approach from afar, felt her breath catch.

Even though she resented him for not looking at her, his appearance was still attractive. Her possessiveness for Tae Kyung flared up even more.

She desperately wanted to have him. That man. She had been looking only at Tae Kyung all this time.

Tae Kyung was the only one who stimulated such a desire for conquest in her.

Yoo Na entered the cafe and sat demurely in front of Tae Kyung.

The attention directed at Yoo Na and Tae Kyung now was not small. Unlike usual, Tae Kyung’s face clearly showed his displeased emotions, as if he didn’t like this situation itself.

“Tae Kyung…”

“Sit.”

In contrast to his frowning expression, Tae Kyung’s voice was as stiff as a machine, devoid of any emotion.

Inwardly, Yoo Na felt provoked, but for now, her position was that of a pitiful and miserable fiancée.

“It’s been a while.”

“I need to settle this relationship myself, in person.”

“What are you saying, Tae Kyung? I have no one but you.”

“No, let’s not do this. It was my mistake. I should have clearly expressed my intentions about the arranged marriage from the beginning. That I can’t marry you.”

“Anyone can make mistakes. I can understand that. Why are you doing this?”

Yoo Na spoke pleadingly, with tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.

But Tae Kyung’s demeanor had become even colder than before. Yoo Na started to feel anxious.

Originally, the more unobtainable something is, the more one wants to have it.

For Yoo Na, Han Tae Kyung was like that now.

“Tae Kyung… How can you do this when we’ve spent so much time together?”

The people in the cafe glanced at the two of them. They pricked up their ears to eavesdrop on their conversation, and some secretly took pictures of the two.

“Stop it. Leave Seo Ha and the child alone. And from the beginning, my wishes were not reflected in this arranged marriage. Marrying me when I have no feelings for you, with only an empty shell, would be unhappy for you too.”

“Tae Kyung!”

Yoo Na stood up, following Tae Kyung as he rose. She grabbed Tae Kyung’s arm and recklessly threw herself into his arms.

Yoo Na suddenly pressed her lips against Tae Kyung’s.

Tae Kyung turned his head at the last moment, avoiding Yoo Na’s surprise kiss.

“Jin Yoo Na!”

“You won’t even kiss me now? You were so kind to me just a few days ago. Were you just playing with me?”

Tae Kyung exhaled with an expression of disbelief. He warned coldly, with a hint of contempt in his eyes.

“Stop talking nonsense. I’ll speak to Congressman Jin myself.”

Tae Kyung, thinking he had said all he needed to say, left the cafe, leaving Yoo Na behind.

Yoo Na stood there for a while with a hurt expression before sinking into a chair.

Inwardly rejoicing, despite her hurt expression.

A short while later, Yoo Na left the cafe and headed for Yangpyeong.

“If Han Tae Kyung won’t do, I’ll have to poke Kim Seo Ha once more. If I can’t have him, Kim Seo Ha, you can’t have him either. Han Tae Kyung was my man.”

Yoo Na’s eyes gleamed viciously. After driving for several hours, she arrived at Onnuri Kindergarten, which was closed. Yoo Na twisted the corners of her mouth.

She sent a text message to Seo Ha and waited for her near the kindergarten.

Surprisingly, Seo Ha responded to Yoo Na’s request and came out.

She looked quite haggard. Yoo Na was pleased to see that.

“It’s been a while.”

“What’s the matter?”

“You don’t even greet me? I’m still your college senior, you know?”

“Should I in this situation?”

“Still as ill-mannered as ever, I see?”

Seeing Seo Ha not giving an inch, Yoo Na crossed her legs haughtily and arrogantly.

“If you don’t want your child to get hurt, let go of Tae Kyung.”

“When have I ever held onto Han Tae Kyung?”

“I’m saying this because I know you will. Aren’t you trying to catch a chaebol man to improve your lot in life?”

As Yoo Na spoke mockingly, Seo Ha retorted in kind.

“Is that always how you people think? How consistent.”

“Don’t put on airs. In the end, the more this goes on, the only one getting hurt is your child.”

“Now you’re even dragging the child into this?”

Seo Ha wore an expression of disbelief. Even that pleased Yoo Na.

“That’s right, how dare you lay your hands on my man? I hate it when someone touches my things.”

Yoo Na warned, lifting her chin.

“You shouldn’t be so relaxed. Let’s see how long you can stay at that kindergarten. If you want to protect your child, you’d better leave. This is the last chance I’m giving you.”

“Miss Jin Yoo Na, you’re really pitiful. What have you been doing for the five years I was gone? Are you still acting so miserably because you haven’t won Han Tae Kyung’s heart?”

“What did you say?”

“Do as you please. But, let me warn you too. If you touch my child, I won’t stay quiet either. Even a cornered mouse will bite a cat, right? You must not know how much it hurts to be bitten by a mouse because you’ve never experienced it.”

Seo Ha stood up and looked down at Yoo Na. The contempt and cynicism mixed in her gaze drove Yoo Na mad.

Unable to contain her anger, Yoo Na picked up the coffee cup she was drinking from and threw its contents at Seo Ha’s face.

Seo Ha tightly closed her eyes, then roughly wiped her face and glared fiercely at Yoo Na.

“How cliché. Even dramas don’t use water slaps anymore. Remember, if you touch our Min Joon, I won’t let it slide either.”

Seo Ha left the cafe with a sardonic smile.

Yoo Na, unable to control her anger, screamed. Clearly, she was the one who had thrown the water, but she felt like she had been the one to take a hit, dragging her into a dirty mood.

She picked up her phone and made a call.

“Yes. Elder sister. It’s me.”