It was truly maddening.

Was I always this impatient? Have I always been so faithful to my instincts?

Why does this stiff, doll-like woman endlessly stimulate me so?

Yi Hyun rose from his seat and instantly closed the distance, gently wrapping his arms around her waist.

“Ha Jun’s stepmother will be taken care of today. So for now, Ha Jun just needs to stay by my side.”

Yi Hyun, looking at the woman before him, felt overwhelmed by his rising emotions but deliberately chose not to hide them.

His strong arms pulled her small body directly into his embrace. Whether she had just bathed, the damp moisture and fragrant scent invaded his nostrils, making his heart pound fiercely.

Startled by the sudden action, Ha Jun regained her senses and called out to Yi Hyun.

“Um, just a moment…”

“We’ll talk later.”

Without any hesitation, Yi Hyun brought his face close to hers.

Ha Jun was fully conscious now. Not a dreamlike sensation, but an electrifying gaze that felt raw and intense, making her whole body tremble. Ha Jun helplessly crumbled and embraced Yi Hyun in return.

This level of emotional turmoil was something she had never experienced in her life, except perhaps for the death of someone. Ha Jun thought this as she remained in his arms.

What is it about this woman that drives me so crazy?

Because she’s pitiful and wretched, bearing an strange and tremendous misfortune he had never heard or seen before, and yet despite all that, she provokes Yi Hyun’s fiery possessiveness.

Yi Hyun did not hide his anger or his burning emotions.

He swiftly lifted her limp, delicate body that was breathing faintly and laid her on the bed in the main bedroom, then sighed.

She seemed to have a slight fever, was her condition worse than expected? Or was it because the tension had eased?

Yi Hyun’s hand gently peeled away Ha Jun’s hair that was sticking to her with sweat, then caressed her face.

“You’re completely drenched.”

Just from one kiss…

He went to the bathroom, dampened a towel, and returned to carefully wipe the sweat from Ha Jun’s face with delicate movements.

He was doing things he never imagined he’d do. Did she know that? If she found out, she’d probably say “Is that so?” like a robot again.

His cool fingertips stroked her small forehead. The damp towel seemed to have had some effect, as the heat had dissipated.

“At least the fever’s gone down. Rest comfortably.”

Yi Hyun spoke words she couldn’t hear in her sleep, then carefully covered her with a blanket to keep her warm before rising.

He immediately went to the living room, found his phone, and called someone.

“It’s me. Look into someone for me. There’s a woman named Lee Ha Jun among Oh Se Ra’s secretaries. Dig up everything about her family. Focus on weaknesses we can exploit.”

– What’s this out of the blue? It’s a holiday today, you know?

“Don’t argue, just do it. I’m giving you thirty minutes.”

He could hear his chief secretary, Ji Won, complaining about weekends and welfare on the other end of the line, but Yi Hyun ignored it and hung up.

And a moment later, Ji Won called back.

“Yeah.”

– There’s an enormous amount of private loan debt. About 500 million won with interest? It keeps growing steadily. Nothing else notable. The mother, Ha Jae Suk, was a lifelong housewife and the younger sister, Lee Seo Hyun, is just a socialite. Oh, they’re both department store VIPs. They’ve been living luxuriously and throwing their weight around just like before they went bankrupt, quite infamous in those circles.

“Take over the loans. And…”

Ji Won burst out with more protests at the following orders, but Yi Hyun cleanly ignored that too, saying he’d give him two hours this time before hanging up.

An hour later, the thoroughly annoyed Chief Secretary Han Ji Won finished arranging matters with the loan sharks and paperwork, then barged into Ha Jun’s house flanked by several sturdy subordinates.

The mother and daughter were thrown into panic at the sudden appearance of debt collectors. Seeing this, Ji Won’s face twisted in displeasure.

Really, these women are treating us like thugs?

“What have I done for you to cause such a fuss before I even state my business? Ma’am, stop trembling and have a seat.”

“Y-yes… of course…”

The two women, visibly anxious, exchanged glances before sitting on the sofa.

Ji Won, already comfortably seated with his legs crossed, whistled softly as he looked around the house.

Even the sofa and furniture are all high-end. It’s obvious what they did with the borrowed money. What parasitic lives.

Without bothering to hide his look of contempt, Ji Won got to the point.

“Pay back the debt. If you can’t, hand over this house and leave.”

“What? But we’ve been paying the interest faithfully all this time, how can you suddenly do this?”

“That’s how it is. The boss changed, so the business policy changed too. Choose now. Will you pay? Or will you leave?”

“Do you know how much this house is worth? How can we just hand it over?”

“Isn’t 70% of the house value mortgaged? You must have some connections at the banks? How did you manage to pull so many loans so ruthlessly? Isn’t that illegal?”

As Ji Won sneered, Jae Suk tilted her head slightly.

What kind of loan shark knows all the details of bank loans? Is it some huge organization?

As that thought occurred to her, Jae Suk suddenly became very polite.

Seo Hyun, who had been pouting beside her, looked strangely at her mother who suddenly sat up straight.

“We just worked hard to get them. Steadily… yes.”

Chief Han’s gaze grew even colder.

“Choose quickly. Pay the money or get out. Okay?”

“We can’t pay. If our eldest daughter slowly pays it back…”

“No!! That’s not an option I gave you.”

“So you want this house? But it’s in our eldest daughter’s name…”

“You think I wouldn’t know that? I’ve taken care of everything. Just get out of this house right now. It’d be even better if you left Seoul altogether. I really don’t want to see the face of such an irresponsible ajumma again, you know?”

Ji Won’s eyes flashed dangerously. Avoiding his cold gaze that showed no room for negotiation, Jae Suk turned her head again.

And a moment later, after wracking her brains in that position, Jae Suk opened her mouth gravely, as if she had made some decision.

Ha Jun woke up when it was starting to get dark outside.

She was lying neatly on the bed, covered up to her neck with the blanket.

Turning her head, she saw her clothes hanging on the bedroom wall, washed and ironed.

Ha Jun got up and reached for her clothes.

The cheap suit had received quite an honorable treatment.

Thinking that the woodcutter play was over now, she put on her clothes neatly and came out to the living room.

Yi Hyun, dressed smartly as if ready to go out, was sitting on the sofa and grinned when he saw her.

“I was just about to wake you up. Perfect timing. Let’s go.”

Yi Hyun put his arm around Ha Jun’s shoulders and strode forward.

“Where are we going?”

“To Ha Jun’s house.”

The car Yi Hyun drove himself stopped in front of a large officetel building, within a ten-minute walk from both the Sung Jin Group and Jae In Group headquarters.

“Here, take this.”

Yi Hyun got into the elevator of the officetel and placed a black card in Ha Jun’s hand.

“It’s the key for the main entrance.”

“No, I…”

“It’s an officetel used for work, so it has everything you’ll need. The door lock password is my birthday.”

Yi Hyun cut off Ha Jun’s attempt at refusal and took her hand, leading her.

“How am I supposed to know your birthday?”

“It’s that day.”

Yi Hyun leaned in close and whispered softly.

“The day we first met.”

A birthday on the company’s founding anniversary… is it a coincidence?

As if reading Ha Jun’s thoughts, Yi Hyun chuckled.

“Funny, isn’t it? They didn’t intentionally time the pregnancy, but since the due date was close to the founding anniversary, our Chairman Jang In Hwa coolly decided to have a C-section on the morning of the founding day. I guess she had grand aspirations for her son to become a pillar of the group, but sadly, that didn’t come to pass.”

Jang In Hwa, chairwoman of Jae In Group. A famous woman.

A female warrior who wields a sharp blade mercilessly on the business frontlines in place of her husband who died in an accident.

And Kim Il Jun, Yi Hyun’s half-brother who was set to succeed her despite not being her biological son, was just as famous as Chairwoman Jang In Hwa.

While Ha Jun was lost in thought, the elevator doors opened and Yi Hyun led her by the hand, taking large strides. As the officetel door opened, Yi Hyun pushed Ha Jun inside without hesitation.

“This is it.”

As Yi Hyun said, it seemed to have everything one could need at a glance. Being for work purposes, it wasn’t much different from a regular home except for a large desk and computer in one corner of the living room.

“Come here.”

The place Yi Hyun took her was the bedroom.

When he opened the built-in wardrobe on one side, it was packed full of women’s clothing. It was unclear when or who had prepared all this.

“Choose what you like and wear it to work. You probably don’t have much to pack from home anyway, since it’s all like what you’re wearing now. The new phone is over there.”

Following Yi Hyun’s gesture, Ha Jun’s gaze fell on a latest model smartphone on the dresser. Looking back into the wardrobe, there were over twenty outfits from what were clearly expensive luxury brands. Ha Jun shook her head.

“This is too much. And I haven’t agreed to accept your help yet.”

“Just take it. And it’s not too much. Who knows how many will get ruined and thrown away?”

At Yi Hyun’s words that didn’t sound like a joke, Ha Jun’s nape quickly turned bright red.

As she struggled to find a response, her lips pressed tightly together like a clam. Seeing this, Yi Hyun felt a rising thirst and swallowed dryly. Just then, his phone rang. It was Chief Secretary Han Ji Won.

“Yeah. Is it taken care of?”

– It’s all done. Ha Jae Suk and Lee Seo Hyun won’t be able to set foot in Seoul anymore.