“Ha.”

Je Guk smiled bitterly as he looked at the documents on the desk in his office.

The period Hyun Baek Hap had spent abroad was different from what Je Guk had known.

It was all a lie that Hyun Baek Hap was a Korean living abroad.

Judging from the timeline, she had been hiding abroad after giving birth to Lee Je Ni.

Just when Je Guk thought there couldn’t be any more disappointments, he worried that there might still be facts he didn’t know.

The more he uncovered the flaws of Lee Hoe Jang, the more distressed Je Guk became.

Still, he had learned something. Even between parents and children, there were secrets.

Je Guk now decided that he should deal with Lee Hoe Jang with a more guarded approach.

After sorting out his relationship with Lee Hoe Jang in his mind, Cheon Ha In remained.

That revenge Ha In said she would take.

Je Guk pondered how he could help her recover emotionally.

The fact that Ha In was working in the prosecution was a great burden for Je Guk.

Despite knowing that, whenever he saw Ha In’s eyes, his heart ached endlessly.

Swallowing, enduring, and bearing so many emotions was truly admirable.

If she had whined about how hard it was without any patience, he wouldn’t have even looked back on their relationship.

Je Guk knew how difficult a time she had endured.

Even when Je Guk had offered to help her back then and asked her to tell him what had happened, Ha In kept her mouth shut and remained silent.

He felt a strong sense of moral responsibility for the child who had to live in the Cheonha Group mansion under the name ‘Ha In’ with no way to escape.

So he wanted to do whatever she wanted.

But Ha In persevered very tenaciously and came to Je Guk when she was at her wit’s end.

At that time, what Ha In had hoped for was to be sent out of the hellish Cheonha Group.

Je Guk couldn’t forget the desperate sound that came out of Ha In’s mouth. This time was the same, she was desperate.

The difference from then was that now Ha In also held the handle of the knife.

“Ha……”

Je Guk had to choose the best way to avoid hurting both Ha In and the Cheonha Group.

Je Guk had known for a long time that he only needed to eliminate Hyun Baek Hap.

He had left Hyun Baek Hap alone out of respect for his father, but now even that justification was gone.

He understood Ha In’s heart waiting for an answer, but Je Guk needed time to carefully consider.

Moving emotionally would not help this case.

There was a knock on the door and the secretary entered.

“Director, the chairman is looking for you.”

For a moment, Je Guk couldn’t control his expression, and the secretary panicked as if he had made a mistake.

“Ah, I have a lot of work right now. Tell him I’m in a meeting. And please bring the chief secretary.”

“Yes, I understand, Director.”

At Je Guk’s call, the chief secretary entered. He was holding another envelope of documents in his hand. The chief secretary placed the envelope on Je Guk’s desk.

“Good work.”

When the stock prices of Cheonha Group affiliates fluctuated, a considerable number of people who bought large amounts of stocks turned out to be Hyun Baek Hap’s people.

And they held quite a large number of stocks.

Je Guk had known for a long time that Hyun Baek Hap was buying stocks by any means necessary.

How many people had she mobilized to exploit like this?

Individually, there seemed to be no problem, but if their stocks were combined, it could be more than what Je Guk held.

That wasn’t what he feared.

Je Guk wished Hyun Baek Hap would have stopped by now before he stepped in.

But suddenly, he wondered where Hyun Baek Hap had drawn such a large amount of funds from.

No matter how much Lee Hoe Jang was backing her, it was difficult to put up this much money. Moreover, Lee Hoe Jang was someone who had no parents or siblings when it came to money.

“Can I see the chairman’s stock holdings?”

Je Guk requested additional data from the chief secretary.

After confirming that most of Lee Hoe Jang’s funds were also tied up in stocks, he became even more curious about the source of Hyun Baek Hap’s funds.

“I need to look at the entry log for the Cheonha Art Museum.”

“Yes.”

The premise was, of course, ‘without Hyun Baek Hap knowing’.

After the chief secretary left, Je Guk headed to the legal department.

He couldn’t tell the head of the legal department about Ha In’s existence.

But he was someone Je Guk could openly discuss eliminating Hyun Baek Hap with.

When he arrived in front of the legal department, the secretary guarding the front tried to inform them that Je Guk had arrived.

Je Guk stopped the secretary with a gesture.

“It’s okay. Just quietly let the head of the legal department know. Tell him I’m coming in.”

Not wanting to disturb the work of other employees, he quietly entered the head of the legal department’s office.

“Director, you should have summoned me.”

The head of the legal department was flustered to see Je Guk come in person.

“I know you’re busy, but…”

The conference table was full of documents.

“Ah, it’s too messy. I’m sorry.”

“No. Don’t mind it at all.”

Je Guk sat in a chair in the middle of the conference table. Then the head of the legal department also sat down.

“I was just about to go report to you after organizing the contents sent from the prosecution.”

It seemed that the prosecution had sent something again in the meantime.

“What are the contents?”

“We’re still looking into it, but this time it’s about requesting data on Director Hyun Baek Hap.”

It wasn’t serious enough, but Je Guk hardened his expression.

He felt Ha In was rushing, so Je Guk also became impatient.

“It doesn’t seem likely that Director Hyun Baek Hap will provide the requested data. What do you think?”

Je Guk was worried that the prosecution would not only fail to obtain the desired data, but also create a situation that would stir up trouble.

“I think the same.”

Je Guk took a deep sigh and calmly organized his thoughts.

Thanks to the data sent by the prosecution, Je Guk didn’t have to separately instruct the head of the legal department that only Hyun Baek Hap should be eliminated.

However, at this rate, Lee Hoe Jang and Hyun Baek Hap would soon find out about Ha In’s existence.

“Then please buy some time.”

* * *

“Senior.”

Choi Gang Jun approached Ha In with a dark expression.

Ha In looked at Gang Jun with furrowed brows, worried that something had happened.

After meeting Je Guk, Ha In had taken action first since no response had come.

The data requested from the Cheonha Group was not very fatal or enormous in content.

She had only asked for data on Hyun Baek Hap’s official schedule.

It was to find out who she was meeting and to grasp the outline of what she was up to.

That was the superficial reason, but Ha In had a separate ulterior motive.

If something was requested from the Cheonha Group’s legal department, it would naturally be reported to Je Guk.

It was a stone thrown in hopes that Je Guk would make a wise judgment and take action.

But did something go wrong with that?

“What’s the matter?”

“The Cheonha Group says they can’t provide the requested data related to Hyun Baek Hap and are asking us to clarify the grounds for requesting the data.”

It wasn’t a big deal.

“They’re saying what we should be saying.”

In a situation where the reasons why Hyun Baek Hap’s side couldn’t provide the data should be more than sufficient, the Cheonha Group was asking the prosecution to clarify the grounds. It was absurd, but the underlying meaning had to be examined.

It was only a guess, but if Je Guk was controlling this situation from the middle without informing Hyun Baek Hap of the facts, he could be holding her back.

“Shall we prepare the grounds and send it again?”

“No.”

Because Ha In spoke so firmly, Gang Jun’s expression stiffened.

No matter how urgent, there was no reason to accommodate everything the Cheonha Group asked for.

“What grounds do we need to push for them to be persuaded? They’re probably just trying to buy time.”

Gang Jun also agreed with Ha In’s words.

“Then what should we do?”

Judging from the current attitude of the Cheonha Group’s legal department, it seemed that Je Guk’s judgment was not yet clear.

Je Guk was not someone who would hand over the Cheonha Group out of sympathy.

“Even if it takes time, we’ll have to slowly tighten the surroundings.”

For now, she chose the method of making the Cheonha Group feel burdened by gradually winning over the people on Hyun Baek Hap’s list one by one.

“Let’s review the summons investigation right away. Let’s also select people who are at risk of fleeing. Prohibit them from leaving the country and prepare arrest warrants if necessary.”

The arrest of a Cheonha Group affiliate was an issue that would greatly damage the company’s image.

Ha In decided not to contact or beg Je Guk first anymore. She had already conveyed all her intentions.

He was not someone who acted because someone whined and clung to him.

Je Guk only moved according to his own conscience and judgment.

However, this method was not a good move for Ha In either.

If she kept provoking Hyun Baek Hap, Ha In’s existence would soon be exposed, and then the anger would fall on Ha In.

Ha In wanted to desperately advance the case even if it meant making a bad move.

Before the smart Je Guk could come up with another move, she had to pull him at her own pace.

At that moment, Ha In’s cell phone vibrated short and sharp.

It was a text message from Je Guk.

Before opening the contents of the message, Ha In’s heart was pounding.

She was curious how he would react to what she was doing now.

If it was anger that put everything else aside, there was no alternative.

The reason Ha In was provoking Je Guk was not to make him angry, but to ask him to pay attention to her.

– How about dinner tonight? 8 o’clock, the place of your choice.

Je Guk took action at Ha In’s small signal.

It was a wise decision worthy of him.

It was also beneficial for Je Guk to hurry and stop it before the work was done.

Ha In, who had figured out Je Guk to some extent, waited for the meeting with him more calmly than before.

Ha In pondered where it would be good to meet Je Guk.

She wanted to borrow the power of the full-bodied wine he had enjoyed.