Ha In quickly finished her work without even having time to go to the restroom, thinking about the time she promised to meet Je Guk.

Even though she hurried, when she looked at the clock, it was already past 8 o’clock.

The problem was that there was still a mountain of work to be done.

Ha In tried to move her body to get up from her seat. But her eyes and hands were still on the documents.

There were more things to look at. But if she got up from her seat now, it seemed like she would be able to arrive by the promised time of 9 o’clock.

Ha In put down the documents she was holding, weighing the importance of the work.

“Choi Gang, good work.”

“Yes, you worked hard too, senior.”

Ha In said goodbye to Gang Jun and quickly left the office.

Since the meeting place was Ha In’s house, she was anxious because she had to arrive even a minute earlier.

Ha In arrived at her house almost running. But seeing Je Guk standing in front of the house, she felt deflated. Even though she ran like this, she was late.

“Still, thank you for at least showing the effort of running.”

At Je Guk’s words, Ha In cleared her throat and quickly went to the front door and pressed the passcode.

“Did you wait long? I lost track of time while working. I’m sorry.”

It was a sense of responsibility she felt as the homeowner.

“No. It’s okay. I just got here too.”

Ha In hurriedly entered the house and turned on the lights.

Fortunately, the house was always tidy since she didn’t stay anywhere except the bedroom and study.

“I’ll make some tea.”

The moment she turned to Je Guk while saying that, Ha In was startled. His lip was cut.

“Your face…”

Ha In’s eyes briefly scanned his face horizontally.

He wasn’t the type to go around getting into fights, and there was no one who could assault Lee Je Guk of Cheonha Group like this.

Ah, there was one person.

Chairman Lee.

Ha In was worried that Je Guk and Chairman Lee might have clashed over the issue of summoning Hyun Baek Hap for investigation.

“Are you going to look at me with that expression?”

Je Guk spoke, feeling embarrassed by Ha In’s gaze.

“Why did this happen?”

Ha In asked seriously.

Je Guk looked into the distance, not knowing what to say.

Seeing that, Ha In felt her guess was correct.

“Did Chairman Lee do this?”

Ha In took a step closer to Je Guk and looked at his face.

Ha In looked at the wound with worried eyes, and without realizing it, she raised her hand. She couldn’t bring herself to touch it, thinking it would hurt, and only frowned.

“Why are you being so serious by yourself?”

Je Guk tried to smile at Ha In, who had become serious, pretending to be okay, but Ha In was still serious.

“Is it because of the summoning investigation?”

“You said you really wanted to do it.”

At Je Guk’s simple answer, Ha In let out a sigh without realizing it.

“Ha…”

Ha In turned her head to the void in bewilderment, blinking her eyes quickly.

“Are you going to keep being like this even though I said it’s okay?”

Even at Je Guk’s words, Ha In’s apologetic feelings did not subside. Ha In looked at Je Guk’s face once more.

“You didn’t even apply medicine.”

Ha In rummaged through the drawers to find the first-aid kit.

She couldn’t remember which drawer she put it in since she didn’t use it often.

“I waited standing for a long time, can I sit down for a bit?”

Earlier he said he just got here, it was a lie. Ha In already felt heavily responsible for the wound on Je Guk’s face, and she felt even more sorry.

“Yes.”

Fortunately, the first-aid kit was in the middle drawer.

Ha In sat next to Je Guk and took out the medicine from the first-aid kit. She took out a cotton swab, applied an appropriate amount of medicine, and handed it to Je Guk.

“Here, apply this.”

Je Guk, who took the cotton swab, blankly stared at Ha In.

“Shouldn’t you give me a mirror too?”

“Ah, a mirror…”

She couldn’t remember keeping a hand mirror at home.

While Ha In was frozen, Je Guk brought the cotton swab to his mouth. Seeing him trying to find the location of the wound by feeling, Ha In reached out her hand towards the cotton swab again.

“I’ll do it for you.”

It would only take a few taps and a moment, but Ha In made up her mind and said it because of her personality.

“Then that would be good.”

Je Guk also readily agreed without showing any reluctance.

Ha In sat close to Je Guk’s side and looked at his face.

Every time the tip of the cotton swab tapped near the corner of his mouth, Ha In’s brows furrowed together.

“It hurts, right?”

Je Guk looked at Ha In, who was making a displeased face.

“You have this kind of side to you. You were always only being vigilant.”

At those words, Ha In came to her senses.

Her face flushed hot, feeling embarrassed by the distance that had gotten too close with Je Guk.

She tried to move her body back, thinking she should put some distance between her and Je Guk. But her left wrist was already grabbed by him.

He took Ha In’s left hand and lifted it up.

“Someone who leaves even deeper wounds alone is being like this over just a small cut.”

Ha In felt an indescribable emotion well up at the fact that he remembered her wound.

It was a unique feeling she only felt with Je Guk. But it was a feeling she couldn’t explain sharply.

“What did I do?”

When Ha In pretended not to know and tried to pull out her wrist, he gripped her wrist tighter.

“Then shall we take a look?”

He slowly unfastened the wristwatch Ha In was wearing on her left hand.

Ha In slightly flinched at his touch.

As he took off the watch, the old scar was exposed. His gaze remained on the scar on Ha In’s wrist.

Ha In tried to break free from his hand with force, but the more she did, the more strength he applied. Ha In weakly dropped her eyes.

“Why did you leave the scar as is? You can get treatment as much as you want if you want to.”

At Je Guk’s question, Ha In rolled her eyes downward a few times.

“Even if I erase the scar, it doesn’t make it as if it never happened.”

It was the same logic as not changing her name.

“It’s not because you’re afraid the desire for revenge will fade, is it?”

Je Guk asked Ha In. Ha In felt like he hit the nail on the head and her chest ached.

“Let’s erase it. The scar.”

Ha In shook her head.

“I’m busy. I don’t have time.”

She avoided his gaze after making a flimsy excuse. Her hands became busy organizing the medicine.

“If you want to leave it as is, don’t hate yourself as you are. Accept it.”

At his words, Ha In flinched and stopped her hand.

She looked at him, curious about what he meant by accepting it.

“Every time your name is called, every time you look at the scar, instead of thinking of them, accept Cheon Ha In as you are, who has endured well until today.”

When he said that, it felt like her shameful name and the scar that was painful to even look at didn’t matter anymore.

Her heart swelled with emotion again. Ha In got up from her seat, closing the first-aid kit.

“I’ll bring you a cup of tea.”

Ha In wanted to avoid the situation for a moment like that.

She wanted to arrange the emotions that kept trying to overflow in front of Je Guk.

While Ha In brewed the tea leaves, she thought about what she would discuss with Je Guk today. In the meantime, she also put the documents for Je Guk to read on the table.

She knew that summoning Hyun Baek Hap for investigation was by no means an easy task, but she really wanted to succeed.

Ha In went back to Je Guk with the tea. Je Guk was still examining the documents.

“It’s not good tea, but please have some.”

“Thank you.”

Although Je Guk knew in his head that he should politely express his gratitude to Ha In, he spoke while keeping his eyes fixed on the documents.

It made sense. The documents showed how much Hyun Baek Hap had embezzled.

“Thanks to the entry logs sent by Cheonha Group, tracking has become a bit easier.”

“It seems you’ve investigated most of the names in the entry logs.”

They were not easily accessible information. Ha In did not carelessly overlook any of the documents Je Guk sent.

Some of them were only the necessary information, but she wanted to repay his effort with her own effort.

“Yes.”

Je Guk put down the documents from his hand and looked at Ha In. Ha In wondered if she did something wrong.

“Did I do something wrong…”

“No. I was thinking you’re amazing.”

Ha In felt shy at his praise.

“There are so many prosecutors more meticulous than me.”

“No, not that. I thought you might be hoping for a mere chance since you earnestly asked me for help.”

Je Guk glanced at the documents once more and looked at Ha In again.

“You really just need me to strictly block any unnecessary interference from the outside. Me.”

“Ah, no. The documents you’re providing now are already such a big help.”

“Prosecutor Cheon Ha In.”

Je Guk called Ha In in a serious voice.

“Why don’t you ask me to provide information about the chairman’s office?”

At Je Guk’s question, Ha In flinched.

It wasn’t because she didn’t need it, but because she had a promise with him.

To completely corner Hyun Baek Hap, traces that showed the chairman’s office also provided assistance were needed.

But if Chairman Lee is touched, Cheonha Group will naturally be shaken.

“You said you didn’t want Cheonha Group to be harmed.”

“That statement sounds like the chairman’s office is not free from this matter either. Is that right?”

“Actually, even if Hyun Baek Hap used the art gallery as a money laundering channel, they would have needed money to purchase the paintings in the beginning.”

Je Guk silently nodded his head.

As Je Guk had previously confirmed, there were no noticeable expenditures from Chairman Lee’s assets.

Although he wanted to believe that would never happen, it was possible that Chairman Lee approved Hyun Baek Hap to use company funds.

“The amount of funds used to bribe public officials who turned a blind eye to corruption and permitted illegal acts was also difficult for Hyun Baek Hap to raise on their own.”

Je Guk drank a sip of tea, feeling impatient.

“I will approach this as carefully as possible.”

Contrary to Ha In’s efforts, Je Guk had a hunch that the chairman’s office would have to bear a considerable responsibility in this case.

If so, rather than just trying to cover it up, a way to minimize the damage was needed.

“If a key comes out of the chairman’s office, is there a way for Cheonha Group to not get hurt?”