Even in this situation, having to sit at the company felt so miserable.

What drove him was the sense of responsibility of leading the company.

Je Guk returned to the company with his unsettled body and mind.

It wasn’t that he was obsessed with the matter of being dismissed as the CEO, but there were things he had to wrap up just in case.

As a result, the chief secretary also couldn’t leave work.

“Director, people from Chief Hyun Baek Hap’s side are actively making moves.”

When had they ever stayed still? It was an admirable diligence.

“Shouldn’t we also do something?”

The chief secretary asked carefully.

“No. I won’t dwell on the vote.”

Je Guk said firmly.

He didn’t want to maintain the CEO position to the point of making regretful remarks.

If there was something he had to move quickly on, it was retrieving data from the chairman’s office.

“We need to speed up the information gathering from the chairman’s office.”

He couldn’t neglect either taking care of the Cheonha Group or helping with Ha In’s investigation.

“Chief Secretary, you can go off work now. I’ll be leaving soon too.”

Je Guk let the hardworking secretary leave first.

As the dawn deepened, his eyes felt gritty and his head started to ache.

Closing his eyes tightly with a hazy fatigue, he tilted his head back.

At the center of Je Guk’s complicated thoughts was none other than Ha In.

He was worried if she was sleeping well in the unfamiliar hospital room.

He had to quickly wrap up work if he wanted to go see Ha In early in the morning.

Je Guk opened his eyes again and examined the reports submitted by each department.

* * *

When Ha In opened her eyes, day was breaking.

She wanted to sleep a bit more.

However, lying around lazily didn’t suit her constitution, so she got up.

Her body, weakened by the medication, felt heavy as a thousand pounds.

She tore open the toiletry kit in the bathroom, brushed her teeth, and washed her face. The moment she raised her head after washing up, she staggered from the dizziness.

The words of the department head who pointed out her health condition came to mind.

– Patient Cheon Ha In, are you inside? It’s breakfast time.

At the female voice coming from outside, Ha In frowned and opened her eyes straight.

“It’s alright. I won’t eat break…”

Wiping her face with a towel and coming out of the bathroom, Ha In paused and froze.

It was clearly a female voice, but Je Guk was standing there. The meal was placed on the table.

“There was a reason for everything. The reason you’re so skinny and have no color in your face.”

Je Guk was looking at Ha In with a displeased expression.

“How did you come?”

She wasn’t asking because she forgot he said he would come early in the morning. She was just asking out of surprise.

“I came earlier, but I waited until breakfast time in case it would be rude. Let’s sit.”

Come to think of it, there were two sets of breakfast.

Je Guk sat down first and waited for Ha In.

Ha In went over and sat in front of him in a daze. Having breakfast with Je Guk was simply surprising.

“Did you sleep well?”

Being asked if she slept well, it was the first time she heard such a thing. But why did her face feel hot, it wasn’t because of where she got hurt yesterday.

“Let’s eat.”

Je Guk opened the lids of the bowls. Ha In also moved to follow him.

There were 8 types of side dishes for breakfast.

Je Guk started eating and Ha In picked up her chopsticks and poked at the rice.

“Should I ask for porridge if you don’t like the rice?”

Je Guk was watching to see if Ha In was eating well, even though he acted like he wasn’t looking.

“No. It’s fine. I just don’t usually eat breakfast so it’s not going down well.”

“Let’s make it a habit starting today. Eating breakfast.”

Ha In put down her chopsticks and picked up a spoon. The beef radish soup seemed like it would go down her throat.

Ha In examined Je Guk from the side while eating.

His outfit was different from yesterday and he looked neat, but somehow he seemed very tired.

Did he not sleep well?

She wanted to ask but couldn’t. Ha In found it strange that she was sitting across from him and having breakfast together right now.

Je Guk didn’t nag her to eat a lot or eat quickly.

He just focused on his own meal. Thanks to that, Ha In could feel less burdened.

“You can put down your spoon if you want to stop eating.”

Those words were also unexpected.

Ha In put down her spoon and drank some water. Je Guk also finished his meal soon after.

“Did you eat too little because of me?”

“I also eat light for breakfast.”

Je Guk raised his arm and looked at his wristwatch.

“Let’s get ready. It’s almost time for your psychiatric appointment.”

“It’s okay… I’m fine.”

Ha In didn’t want to get an examination.

She thought it was something she could just endure, not a difficulty she had been suffering for just a day or two.

“Miss Cheon Ha In, I’m not used to keeping track of and following someone else’s schedule.”

Ha In knew that well too. He came all the way here saying he would keep this schedule even though he was already busy. Ha In changed her mind seeing his sincerity.

“…Yes, where should we go?”

Ha In followed Je Guk to the consultation room.

“Come in, please. Have a seat.”

The head of the psychiatric department kindly welcomed Ha In and Je Guk.

He started the consultation with light conversation. He had a gentle impression and a calm tone, but there was a cool-headedness that didn’t waver at any remark.

Ha In trusted the doctor’s attitude. But it was burdensome to reveal all her inner thoughts.

“Do you remember when the symptoms of chest pain and shortness of breath started?”

“No.”

Even with Ha In’s incomplete answers, he continued to ask calmly without showing discomfort.

“Then do you at least remember the most recent time you felt the symptoms?”

“I don’t recall.”

Somehow it felt like being interrogated. Ha In, who now had something to hide, gradually became more rigid in her speech.

“I guess my presence is making you uncomfortable. I’ll give you some space so you can have the consultation comfortably.”

Je Guk gave Ha In space so she could have the consultation at ease.

Now that he gave her space, Ha In seemed to relax a little.

Regardless of the trust built between them, Je Guk was still a difficult person for Ha In.

“Have you shown these symptoms recently? Or at least after becoming an adult.”

Actually, Ha In remembered. She knew exactly when this suffocating fear started.

“Since, a very young age.”

“Well, was there some kind of trigger?”

“It started from the day my mother passed away. When I was very young.”

The department head nodded.

“Chief, I have something I’m curious about.”

There was something she always wanted to ask someday.

No matter how much she wanted to cry, her chest would only feel choked up but no tears came out. In the past, she thought she was holding them back herself, but as days passed, she realized that wasn’t the case.

“Yes, feel free to speak.”

“The tears, they don’t come out.”

If one wasn’t a specialist, it might sound strange. People view smiling positively but think crying is not good.

“Since when was that the case?”

It was probably after Chairman Lee gave a stern warning that he absolutely hated the sound of children crying other than his own child.

“Since before my mother passed away. From a very long time ago. I constantly heard that I should never cry.”

“And you’re saying the tears still don’t come out now?”

Whether that patience from back then was ingrained in her, tears wouldn’t come out to the point of feeling a lump in her throat.

It was strange to just dismiss it as a natural disposition. She wanted to know if there was a disorder like this.

“Yes.”

“That can happen. You have severe depression and also panic symptoms. It seems like daily life would be very difficult for you, how did you endure it?”

That’s what she wanted to know. She didn’t know how she endured and made it this far.

She newly realized it wasn’t for nothing that she was called a bad guy, a tough guy.

“I’ll prescribe you some medication. Let’s monitor regularly and work on improvement.”

Ha In shook her head. Ha In knew her symptoms wouldn’t be resolved with medication.

She thought she would get better once the fundamental wounds of her heart healed.

“Psychiatric medications make you drowsy. I can’t afford to be tired in my situation.”

It was a poor excuse but also true.

“I’m grateful enough that you listened to me.”

“Still, it would be good for you to improve while receiving drug treatment.”

Ha In shook her head again. She felt like it would go away completely once the revenge was over.

“Not all psychiatric medications cause drowsiness. If you really dislike it, I’ll at least prescribe you some emergency medication.”

She agreed with that. Another mishap of losing consciousness and collapsing had to be avoided.

“Thank you.”

* * *

Je Guk was leaning against the wall next to the consultation room door with his arms crossed.

Hearing the conversation between Ha In and the department head, his heart ached.

He had no taste for eavesdropping on someone’s story at all, but today he listened on purpose.

He wanted to know Ha In’s condition.

If Ha In at least had a guardian, he wouldn’t have gone this far.

There was also the method of asking after the consultation, but Ha In wasn’t someone who would answer readily so this was the only way.

As the sound of conversation dwindled, Je Guk lifted his back from the wall.

The door opened and Ha In came out.

“You waited here?”

“Why do you look so dejected? Did something serious come up?”

Je Guk asked Ha In, pretending not to know the content he heard.

Ha In shook her head and turned her body in the direction of the hospital room. And she took weak steps.

Je Guk constantly wanted to embrace her small shoulders.

It would be nice if she said it hurt when it did, and honestly said so when she wasn’t okay, but Ha In was someone who found that so difficult.

He calmly followed behind her.