Instead of going to the gynecology hospital, Ha Jun returned home after stopping by the pharmacy to buy three pregnancy tests, and with trembling hands, she entered the bathroom holding them.

After carefully reading the instructions and conducting the test, Ha Jun placed two test kits in front of her and swallowed hard as she watched the indicator lines gradually darken.

“Ah…”

Both test kits showed clear double lines. In an instant, her vision became blurry.

Ha Jun picked up the last test kit with shaking hands. Although news of Yi Hyun’s engagement had come out, it was still risky to go to the hospital for confirmation, so she needed to be certain.

When the last test kit also revealed clear double lines, Ha Jun burst into tears.

“Baby…! Sob, my baby!”

Truly, a miracle had come to Ha Jun. A family had come to her.

After crying for a while, she came out and was greeted by a savory aroma wafting through the air. Feeling saliva unconsciously pooling in her mouth, Ha Jun burst into laughter.

She was happy. She was no longer alone. The baby in her womb, Bok Seon who was cooking something in the yard rather than the kitchen, and even Hyun Ju and Yeon A who had helped her come this far… they were all Ha Jun’s people.

“Grandmother!”

Ha Jun rushed out to the yard and hugged Bok Seon tightly.

“I’m really pregnant. Look at this!”

“Oh my, that’s right! I’ve seen it in dramas~ If there are two lines, it means you’re with child. Right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Hehe~ Grandma’s always right, isn’t she? Now, don’t go running around. Be careful, very careful, and eat only delicious things, see only good things. That’s what you should do. When the mother is happy, the baby grows well.”

“I’m already so, so happy.”

“Are you hungry? The chicken soup is almost done, so I should go serve the rice. Sit here.”

Bok Seon hurriedly went into the kitchen. In the middle of the yard, a large black pot was emitting white smoke, with the aroma of chicken soup wafting out.

Gulp, her mouth watered.

Bok Seon brought out rice and kimchi, placing them on the round table on the wooden platform. As she opened the large pot lid as if pushing it, white steam burst out, filling the yard with the delicious scent of chicken soup.

“Wow~!”

Bok Seon took out a large native chicken from the pot, placed it on a tray, and pulled off a chicken leg, putting it in front of Ha Jun.

“You need to eat well so the baby grows well and the mother doesn’t lose her strength. It’s such hard work for a person to grow another person inside their belly, so you need to eat diligently and well.”

“Yes!”

Ha Jun smiled brightly.

“Elder brother! Yi Hyun, elder brother!”

Yu Ha, with large eyes brimming with tears, burst into the hospital room calling for her elder brother. Yi Hyun’s handsome face immediately crumpled. And on the face of Director Han, who was sitting at the reception table working on his laptop and documents, an irrepressible smile played.

“…I almost cursed for a moment.”

Either not hearing or pretending not to hear Yi Hyun’s muttering, Yu Ha rushed straight to him and began to knead his arm.

“How did the accident happen? What about your leg? Anywhere else? Are there other injuries? What about your back? Huh? Is your back okay?”

“It hurts, so let go.”

“Eek! I’m sorry!”

“Three more steps back.”

“Umm…”

“How did you find out and come here?”

“I heard from mother! That the engagement ceremony had to be postponed… *sniff*”

“Hah…”

Yi Hyun clutched his head.

“As you can see, I need absolute rest, so don’t come visit.”

“Isn’t Director Han working here right now? Why can’t I?”

“You’re not my secretary. And Director Han doesn’t make noise like you. He doesn’t touch my body either.”

Yi Hyun was cold enough that not a drop of blood would come out if pricked. Yu Ha looked dejected seeing Yi Hyun like this.

“Alright. But I’ll come visit occasionally.”

“…”

Yi Hyun’s cold gaze once again turned towards his problem solver. Sighing deeply, he got up from his seat and approached Yu Ha.

“Miss Jin Yu Ha, the director needs to rest…”

“I know that! I’m leaving.”

Yu Ha looked at Yi Hyun with resentful eyes and turned around abruptly. Ji Won, with a disgruntled expression, followed her out of the hospital room.

“She usually doesn’t listen well, but she really listens to Yi Hyun. Anyway, goodbye, Miss Jin Yu Ha.”

“What’s with that? Choose one, senior or brother’s secretary. It’s bad enough that he doesn’t like me, if I do as I please, Yi Hyun might really pretend not to know me. I don’t want that.”

Ji Won made an incredulous expression at Yu Ha’s sulky words, who had unintentionally become his junior even in university by following Yi Hyun. Really… there was no unrequited love like this.

And she started speaking informally first!

“It’s great. Love, that thing, it’s really~ great.”

“I really like him…”

Seeing Yu Ha’s deflated appearance, Ji Won suddenly asked her something he had never known or tried to know until now.

“Why? There must be a reason you like him that much?”

“He’s handsome. And he’s the son of Jae In Group.”

“…”

I almost cursed for a moment.

“Hah… go quickly. I have a mountain of work to do now. Working here is driving me crazy, it’s so inefficient.”

“Good luck. I’m going.”

“Okay.”

Ji Won watched Yu Ha’s retreating back for a moment before turning to enter the hospital room, but then changed direction towards the lounge. Thanks to Yu Ha, he needed some instant caffeine to combat the built-up fatigue.

“After all, vending machine coffee is the best.”

Ji Won, listening to the whirring sound from the vending machine after pressing the button, suddenly chuckled. It was still amusing to think about.

“The thunderous Jin Yu Ha lowers her tail like a docile pet dog, and the ill-mannered man Kim Yi Hyun grins as if he’s caught the wind in his lungs, saying this is love that makes the whole world beautiful? Haha~ I’m really dying of envy. I’ll fall in love too, just you wait! Tch.”

Ji Won shook his head and moved towards the hospital room. And behind him, Yu Ha was watching his retreating back as he returned to the room. She bit her lip tightly, as if upset.

As Ji Won threw the empty paper cup into the trash can and opened the hospital room door, Yi Hyun, who was sitting on the bed looking at something, glanced at him.

“What took you so long?”

“I grabbed a cup of coffee.”

“From now on, don’t let Jin Yu Ha come here. And what about what I instructed?”

“What instructions…?”

“Il Sung Construction.”

“Ah! I forgot!”

Yi Hyun’s sharp eyes looked at Ji Won with disapproval.

“That’s your top priority right now. And find Lee Ha Jun immediately. Where she is and what she’s doing now.”

“Brother, you’re not planning to go look for her yourself with that leg, are you? Should I go and bring her back?”

“No. Just locate her position. If Ha Jun sees this, she’ll faint from shock. When my leg is fully healed, I’ll go get her myself.”

Ji Won let out a hollow laugh at Yi Hyun’s resolute words.

“You’re worried about that woman being shocked even in this situation?”

“Yeah. Extremely, insanely worried. And it’s not ‘that woman’, it’s sister-in-law. Or madam. Use the correct title.”

“…This is driving me crazy.”

Director Han shook his head.

6 months later.

“Huff, huff, ha~”

“Take it easy. Are you trying to become Popeye?”

Despite Ji Won’s sarcasm, Yi Hyun continued moving his upper body, paying no heed.

“Since I can’t do lower body, I have to at least do upper body. Huff~”

“The proportions are off, the proportions.”

“I’ll do lower body when the cast comes off. Mind your own business.”

In contrast to the dark circles under his eyes and slightly thinned facial lines, Yi Hyun’s body, doing sit-ups on the bed, had actually become thicker compared to six months ago.

The cast on his right leg had been removed long ago, but his left leg, from which the metal pins had been removed just two months ago, was still encased in a thick full-leg cast from thigh to ankle as a substitute for the fixation device.

Although not perfect yet, Yi Hyun was doing his best with rehabilitation and body building. And Ji Won had been watching this unfold for half a year.

“You won’t be able to stand on your leg right away even when the cast comes off.”

“Still, I need to recover as quickly as possible. What about finding Ha Jun? No news today either?”

“…No. There’s no credit card usage record, no trace of anything. Still.”

“Hah…”

“At least we know she’s still in the country since there’s no record of her leaving. She wouldn’t have smuggled herself out, right…? Or did she really?”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

“I’m just saying because it’s frustrating. We’re still looking, so don’t worry too much. No news is good news, right?”

The problem is that I’m going crazy because there’s been no news at all, you idiot.

It had been 6 months since Ha Jun disappeared, and she turned out to have an incredible talent for hide-and-seek. She hadn’t even appeared in his dreams.

And for all that time, Yi Hyun had been suffering from unbearable longing.

So while awake, he constantly worked or moved his body relentlessly to sweat. As the nights of sleeplessness grew longer, at some point he began relying on sleeping pills to sleep like the dead.

However, Yi Hyun never gave up on Ha Jun. Even if he had to quit the company and comb through the entire country, he was determined to find Ha Jun no matter what.

If only this damn leg would fully heal.

Yi Hyun roughly wiped off the sweat trickling down his forehead and opened his laptop on the desk.

His eyes gleamed sharply like a fierce predator eyeing its prey as he looked at the chaotic stock market screen. Ji Won’s eyes also lit up as he stuck close to Yi Hyun’s side.

“Has it gone up a bit?”

“Smooth sailing.”

“As expected~ If you had seriously gone into stocks, you would have really hit it big. Well, just the Jae In Group stocks you own are already a jackpot. So~ what are you buying today?”

“Young Won Entertainment. The entertainment sector is hot these days. Sell all the pharmaceutical stocks.”

“Ooh~ Got it!”

Ji Won hurriedly pulled his laptop over and opened the stock trading window.

“Soon Lee Ha Jun’s assets will be on par with a decent small business owner, but where on earth has the owner gone? Huh?”

“I know. Not even knowing she’s become rich. Where are you, sister-in-law~”

Yi Hyun smiled bitterly at Ji Won’s banter.

As In Hwa had hinted, Il Sung Construction, which Ha Jun’s father had run, was a company with quite solid fundamentals. To the extent that it made no sense for the company to go bankrupt immediately following the president’s death.