As Hyun Ju, who had returned after being called by Se Ra while leaving work, stood in front of her parked car, the deeply tinted window lowered with a whirring sound.

“Get in next to me.”

“Okay.”

Hyun Ju opened the back door and was about to sit down when she flinched upon seeing Yeon A in the passenger seat.

“Yeon A?”

“Manager…”

Noticing something off in Yeon A’s subdued voice, Hyun Ju’s gaze turned to Se Ra. Se Ra, who seemed to be in quite a bad mood, looked at Hyun Ju and curled one corner of her mouth crookedly.

“Just now, Yeon A and I met Lee Ha Jun’s stepmother in front of here. She was looking for Lee Ha Jun?”

“Ah…”

“Let’s explain. The truth is better than excuses.”

Hyun Ju, with her head bowed and lips tightly bitten, let out a low sigh.

“I’m sorry. But there was no choice. At that time, Ha Jun had to leave as soon as possible… and the reason was something the Executive Director shouldn’t know.”

“Do you still think that way now?”

“Yes, that’s what I think.”

At Hyun Ju’s firm answer, Se Ra let out a small sigh.

“So I was just that insignificant of a boss. Ah, this is shocking. Are you doing this to a heavily pregnant woman?”

“…I’m sorry.”

“No. For now… both of you go home. Let’s meet tomorrow.”

“We’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow. Take care.”

Hyun Ju and Yeon A quietly said goodbye and got out of the car. Then Se Ra’s driver returned and sat in the driver’s seat.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes, Executive Director.”

Se Ra’s deep gaze, sunk deep into the back seat, turned towards the window.

A moment later, Se Ra’s car stopped at the hospital where Yi Hyun was. Se Ra, who got out of the car, spotted Il Jun standing inside the lobby on the first floor of the hospital and smiled brightly.

“Honey!”

“You’re here? But why are you late for the appointment time?”

“Ah, there was something that came up.”

“Is it something bad? You don’t look good.”

“Well… not bad, but a bit shocking? I thought I was a pretty good boss, but I guess not. Choi Manager and Heo Yeon A are excluding only me, you know?”

“No way~”

“It’s true. There’s definitely something I don’t know. Let’s go up for now. Didn’t you say Yi Hyun is getting his cast off today?”

“Okay, let’s go. Walk slowly.”

The affectionate couple linked arms and headed towards Yi Hyun’s hospital room.

Yi Hyun, who had already had his cast removed and was sitting on the bed gently moving his left leg that had lost muscle, grinned as he saw them enter through the open door.

“Business must have been quite busy lately? It’s been a while.”

“Both my wife and I are running the country’s largest corporation, so of course we’re always busy. Unlike you who’s just lying down and trading stocks.”

“What’s with this? I worked here. Han Manager also comes to work here.”

Se Ra chuckled at Yi Hyun’s playful retort and suddenly looked around as if she had just remembered something.

“Come to think of it, Ji Won’s not here? Did he already go home?”

“No, he went to catch some bugs for a moment. He’ll be back.”

“Bugs? In the hospital?”

Se Ra exclaimed in shock, and Yi Hyun snickered.

“You’re pretending to be weak, Oh Se Ra. The bug-catching is far outside the hospital, so don’t worry, sister-in-law.”

“I’m not pretending to be weak, I just hate bugs. I just hate them, that’s all!”

Il Jun laughed at Se Ra’s expression as if she had seen something horrific. A faint, bitter smile briefly crossed Yi Hyun’s lips as he watched Il Jun.

“I’m already annoyed today, so let’s stop talking about strange things. How’s your leg? Do you have feeling?”

“Well, doesn’t it look better than expected? Even though I’ve lost some muscle, it shouldn’t take that long to get back to normal.”

“That’s good then.”

“Don’t overdo it, okay? Don’t cause problems by overdoing it in the name of rehabilitation.”

“Alright. Even though I didn’t get to see Oh Se Ra wearing a puffy wedding dress due to speeding, I should at least see my first niece or nephew being born.”

“It’s going to be incredibly beautiful. Isn’t that obvious without even seeing?”

Se Ra placed her hand on her swollen waist and proudly thrust out her bulging belly, raising her chin haughtily.

Just as Yi Hyun was shaking his head as if he couldn’t believe it, the hospital room door opened and Ji Won entered with a completely furrowed brow.

“Oh? You two came.”

“Yes, we’re here. Where did you go to catch bugs?”

“Bugs…? Ah~ Yes, I caught them. Two huge ones. I caught them and locked them up well. Very well~”

“Good job.”

“The bugs are really vicious. If they bite once, not a drop of blood would be left. Ugh~”

He shuddered as if it was truly horrifying. Se Ra’s expression contorted again in response.

“Stop! Stop talking about that now. It’s giving me the creeps!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Only when Ji Won made a gesture of covering his mouth did Se Ra’s contorted expression relax. Then soon after, a sigh escaped.

“Haa… Come to think of it, I also saw two leech-like women earlier.”

“Leeches?”

“Yeah. The stepmother of a former employee who used to be my secretary and her sister or younger sister, I’m not sure which. I chased them away as they were lurking in front of the company. They’re not even human. Compared to that woman, even Patjwi’s mother or Cinderella’s stepmother are kind.”

“…”

Yi Hyun, Ji Won, and Il Jun quickly exchanged glances. While Il Jun was just flustered because the topic of Ha Jun came up, Yi Hyun and Ji Won immediately realized that the bugs they had been talking about and the leeches Se Ra had met were the same people.

“But the strange thing is, you know. I thought that employee quit as if running away because of that leech, but today I found out that wasn’t the case. It seems all my secretaries know the reason… but they won’t tell me no matter what. They say it’s a reason I shouldn’t know.”

The faces of the three men simultaneously hardened at Se Ra’s words. However, Se Ra, who was deeply pondering something, failed to notice this.

“So I thought about it, you know? What could be the reason I shouldn’t know… And one very plausible inference came to mind.”

“What is it?”

“There must have been a man involved. And a man who has a very deep connection with me.”

All three men froze for a moment at Se Ra’s sharp guess. And then Yi Hyun let out a long sigh.

He had intended to tell Se Ra after finding Ha Jun and breaking off the engagement with Yu Ha, but it wouldn’t matter if she found out like this now. Yi Hyun looked at Se Ra with an expression that seemed somewhat sad.

Se Ra, with a serious expression, nodded at Yi Hyun like that.

“Yeah, Yi Hyun. I guess our dad secretly messed with my secretary without my knowledge? Oh my~ He’s about to become a grandfather soon, has he really gone crazy?”

“…”

“…”

“…”

The three men were left speechless at this incredible deduction.

After Il Jun and Se Ra left, Yi Hyun was lost in thought. A memory he had forgotten due to the accident and confusion came back to him. On the day Ha Jun disappeared, Yeon A clearly seemed to know something.

“Those two women… must have hidden Ha Jun…”

“Seems so. That’s why he hid so well. They know how this world works, so they probably know exactly how we find people. They really got us good.”

“Stop looking for Ha Jun and put people on those two. Then we’ll get some traces.”

“I’ll put them on right away.”

“Okay. You can go now.”

Yi Hyun leaned deeply against the raised bed head and closed his eyes. Behind his closed eyes, Ha Jun’s expressionless face flickered. The image of him sobbing with his mouth covered shattered into white pieces. The sight of him smiling radiantly at Yi Hyun upon waking up one day rippled like a mirage.

Han Manager, who had been watching with pained eyes as tears flowed down Yi Hyun’s closed eye corners, quietly left the hospital room.

After sitting motionless for a long time, Yi Hyun opened the bedside table drawer with bloodshot eyes. He took out sleeping pills from the drawer and swallowed the pills without water.

“Ugh…”

A painful groan barely escaped through his tightly clenched teeth. And a moment later, Yi Hyun’s eyes slowly closed.

The seawater, which had risen to just below the edge of the path where people were passing by at high tide, lapped gently. A heavily pregnant woman who had been walking slowly along that very path, seemingly finding it difficult to walk, quietly sat down on a long bench.

“Phew… even breathing is hard now. Our little blessing, how much more are you going to grow? What if mommy’s belly bursts at this rate? Hm?”

A soft and warm hand gently caressed the swollen belly that looked ready to burst. As if in response, a small vibration was felt from inside the belly.

A happy smile spread across her face at the cute little movement, as if saying, “Mom, I’m doing well here.”

At that moment, a shout calling her was heard from across the street.

“Ha Jun~~ Mother of our little blessing~~!”

“Grandmother!”

Ha Jun waved her hand with a bright smile. Bok Seon hurriedly approached Ha Jun.

“You shouldn’t walk for too long, it’s not good if you get too tired, are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“Did our little blessing say hello today too?”

“Yes, it’s moving even now. Do you want to feel it?”

Ha Jun took Bok Seon’s wrinkled hand and placed it on her belly. Then once again, a movement could be felt from inside.

“Oh my~ Our grandchild is playing well. So pretty~ Taking after its mother, being so good and gentle in the world, even having good manners. Hehehe~”

Bok Seon kept stroking the belly, clearly adoring it. Although they hadn’t been able to go to the hospital even once since finding out about the pregnancy, the fetus was growing vigorously, showing off its presence.

Moreover, apart from occasional nosebleeds, she was having a smooth pregnancy period without even a single instance of morning sickness.

Bok Seon called the gentle fetus their little blessing.

The little blessing was certainly just like Ha Jun, without a doubt.

“Looking at the belly, it seems like our pretty grandchild is about ready to come out soon, hm? When are you going to come out and show your pretty face to grandma? You’ll be a handsome boy taking after your mother. Hehehe~”