It was a sunny afternoon.

Suyeon, to celebrate a sweet weekend, visited her in-laws’ house in Seongbuk-dong.

“Mother, I’m here.”

“Oh, Suyeon! You said you had to stop by the company, why did you come so quickly?”

Yeongseon, just out of the kitchen, greeted Suyeon with puffy eyes.

Suyeon cheerfully fist-bumped Yeongseon and walked towards the living room.

“I was about to leave for work, but I got a call saying it might not be necessary, so I came straight here. Mother, have you had your meal?”

Discussing events that happened in just an hour, Suyeon sat on the sofa with Yeongseon.

Soon, Yeongcheon came with a welcoming face, carrying tea.

Yeongseon exchanged eye greetings with Yeongcheon and then looked back at Suyeon.

“Oh, really? It wasn’t something urgent?”

“A newly hired employee is still inexperienced, so the work is a bit delayed. That’s why they came to work today too. There was a minor issue while catching up on the backlog, but fortunately, it was resolved.”

“Well, that’s fortunate, but… By the way, doesn’t that new employee have a supervisor? If there’s a problem, they should contact the supervisor instead of calling you. Since it doesn’t seem like a significant issue, especially if you’ve handled it alone.”

“Oh… If there’s a problem outside of working hours, they told me to contact them. It doesn’t happen often, and Inho is quite busy these days. I thought it would be better to do something productive rather than being alone at home.”

Suyeon replied with a cheerful smile, and it seemed to have some persuasiveness as Yeongseon did not respond further.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Suyeon quickly accepted the tea prepared by Yeongcheon.

Yeongseon’s words to Yeongcheon were not entirely false, but there was a real situation behind them.

“Team leader, I have something to tell you.”
“Yes, Mr. Woojin. What’s the matter?”

“It’s nothing else… I hope to take childcare leave.”

“Childcare leave?”

“Yes. My wife gave birth not long ago, and it’s been challenging for her.”

The words Woojin had heard a few days ago were a completely unexpected story.

It seemed like just a short while ago that he heard the news of his wife’s pregnancy, and now she had already given birth.

The passage of time felt so swift that he couldn’t speak for a moment.

The haziness in his pupils came into focus only after hearing Woojin’s continued words.

“I’m sorry for suddenly bringing this up. I know it’s a busy time, but my wife is really struggling…”

“Oh, no. It’s a time when moms need a lot of support. I completely understand.”

Suyeon’s thought processes weren’t entirely back to normal, but she hurriedly responded.

However, it wasn’t the response Woojin was looking for.

Headaches that had completely disappeared from her life resurfaced with renewed intensity.

Since Hyunjung became the new chairman, many things had changed in Taeshin.

Although the growth rate was slower than when Dae-ho was the chairman, the once unstable state of the company had rapidly stabilized.

Hyunjung’s honest and straightforward management style, sticking to principles, took some time to show results, but it gradually transformed Taeshin into a robust and stable company.

Without operating aggressively as before, the company ran smoothly, and work overflowed.

The recent period marked the peak of this success.

The reason for not warmly welcoming Woojin’s childcare leave was also related to this.

“I understand Mr. Woojin’s perspective well. However, could you give me a month or two, too? It’s a busy time for me as well, and if Mr. Woojin leaves immediately, the remaining employees will have a harder time… I’m sorry if you expected a different answer, but I apologize.”

“No, Team Leader. I’m thankful, actually. I understand that it’s a difficult decision, and I appreciate it.”

Woojin bowed his head several times more apologetically than Suyeon.

From that day on, Suyeon paid special attention to Woojin.

Although childcare leave was a company benefit provided to employees, since the company couldn’t provide the expected benefits due to its circumstances, it was right to offer the best consideration within her power.

She minimized Woojin’s workload as much as possible and took on tasks that couldn’t be resolved during working hours.

As she had told Yeongseon, protecting an empty house without busy Inho was better than dealing with household affairs alone.

However, what weighed heavily on her heart was the news of pregnancy and childbirth, a source of joy and happiness for someone else.

“Oh, right. Jinhyuk’s family is coming over for dinner tonight. Inho is still very busy today, right?”

Yeongseon, clapping her hands while sipping tea, brought up the forgotten conversation.
“No, it’s okay. I heard he’ll finish before dinner today. He said he’d come later.”