The servant asked Jeguk in a firm voice. He thought there was no reason for Jeguk to treat him kindly otherwise.

“Why are you being so nice to me?”

Jeguk’s expression hardened at that question. He was furious at the reason for the question.

Nevertheless, if he made the servant have such doubts, he needed to provide an appropriate answer.

Honestly, at first it was out of pity and sympathy. But the closer he got to the servant, the more he wanted to protect her.

What was the reason he had to feel responsible for the servant?

It wasn’t the situation that pushed Jeguk. It was Jeguk’s heart.

If he put together all those complicated feelings, it was fondness.

“Because I’m fond of you.”

“What?”

The servant asked back, looking startled.

“If it wasn’t for that, there would be no reason for me to be sitting face to face with Prosecutor Cheon Ha In right now. I must look like I have a lot of free time.”

She still had an expression of disbelief.

“The fondness I feel isn’t something that needs to be persuaded, is it?”

Ha In turned red to the tips of her ears and glared at Jeguk.

Jeguk just stared at Ha In, not knowing what he had done wrong.

“If you have something to say, say it out loud.”

Lies.

Ha In felt like Jeguk’s words were a terrible joke.

Or she wondered if Jeguk had gone crazy from extreme stress.

“What’s the reason you’re fond of me when I said I’m going to get revenge?”

There were thorns at the end of Ha In’s calm voice.

Not believing Jeguk’s words, she reacted sharply instead. Moreover, he was someone who knew all about Ha In’s ugly past.

“Are you trying to get revenge on me?”

That wasn’t it. To Ha In, Jeguk was not at all a target for revenge.

“Even if it’s not that, you know that I could be someone who harms Cheonha Group.”

“That’s something I’ll control.”

Jeguk answered leisurely.

“Prosecutor Cheon Ha In.”

Jeguk called out to Ha In. But Ha In blushed and tried hard to assess the situation.

“Ms. Cheon Ha In.”

Jeguk called out to Ha In again.

“The issue here is not my sincerity, but your suspicion.”

As far as Ha In knew, Jeguk was not someone who said things that weren’t true. He wasn’t someone who spoke lightly either.

When he even said it was his true feelings, there was no reason to insist it wasn’t.

Fondness, let’s not attach too much meaning and just think of it as that much.

“Yes. Thank you for being fond of me.”

Ha In spoke in a subdued manner, but she was still being pointed.

“Director.”

Ha In called Jeguk seriously.

“You may not like to hear this, but I’m worried.”

“You seem determined today.”

Come to think of it, nothing was going according to Ha In’s plan today.

It was questionable whether she came to comfort Jeguk or to confront him.

Still, there was something she had to ask Jeguk.

Ha In was worried that Jeguk would lose his position as CEO.

If that happened, Jeguk would be robbed by Hyun Baek Hap again, and she hated that so much.

“What do you think will happen with the proposal to dismiss the CEO?”

“Who knows.”

Jeguk showed a lukewarm reaction.

“Isn’t it the most important issue in Cheonha Group right now?”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not interested in that atmosphere.”

“How, how can you be like that?”

It was hard to tell if Jeguk was really okay or just pretending to be.

“I’d like to assure you of one thing.”

He looked at Ha In with deep eyes, gaze fixed on her.

“Even if I step down from the CEO position today, I will protect Prosecutor Cheon Ha In.”

She could feel his sincerity without having to ask if he meant it.

But for some reason, she was curious.

But Ha In kept doubting if she deserved this favor from him.

“Do I have to ask why again?”

Ha In felt embarrassed, as if her thoughts were in the palm of Jeguk’s hand.

At this point, it would be more absurd to stubbornly deny it.

“I promised you. That I would help.”

While wondering if that was really all, Ha In also knew Jeguk’s personality of always keeping his word once he said it out loud.

There must have been a rational judgment, not an emotional appeal.

Knowing his personality, she put in effort from the beginning to change his mind.

If Jeguk had been uncooperative with the prosecution, the investigation would have faced great difficulties.

“And I told you. I want Prosecutor Cheon Ha In to be happy.”

Would that be possible?

Ha In’s eyes wavered.

Jeguk was always confident about Ha In’s happy future, but Ha In wasn’t.

People envied and were jealous of Ha In, who was called the ace of the Central District Prosecutors’ Office, but Ha In herself knew she had very low self-esteem.

When she thought of the flawed past she was hiding, she felt infinitely small.

The deficiencies and wounds of childhood were still tormenting Ha In.

In particular, the trauma regarding happiness firmly tied Ha In so she couldn’t escape from unhappiness.

Just then, the food came out.

It looked like Korean food, but the dishes beautifully served in each earthenware bowl were hard to guess the names of.

It was a meal full of sincerity.

“Let’s not think about other things at least while eating.”

Ha In also didn’t tell Jeguk about Hyun Baek Hap because she wanted to do that.

The reason she asked to see Jeguk today was because she wanted to comfort him even if she couldn’t say it, no matter how small.

But somehow it seemed like she was only making him more tired.

“Yes.”

Jeguk wasn’t in the mood to eat, but he picked up his spoon.

Ha In also started eating with a sense of responsibility rather than burden.

“How do you usually eat?”

“I eat well.”

“I mean, how well do you eat?”

It was either coffee with cookies or coffee with bread.

“I eat at a restaurant near the prosecutors’ office.”

“Really? Then let’s have dinner together like that every day. Well.”

Ha In flinched at Jeguk’s suggestion. She soon avoided his gaze and put a spoonful of rice in her mouth.

“I’d like to see you every day.”

Ha In choked on the rice at those words.

Jeguk handed Ha In water. Ha In looked at Jeguk with a very wary expression.

“Why?”

She really wanted to ask the reason for this. Ha In stared at Jeguk and asked.

Jeguk didn’t want to tell Ha In, “I’m worried your safety will be threatened.”

He wanted to hide that and reveal his feelings.

Since he said he liked her and was fond of her, even that wasn’t something that needed to be persuaded with logic.

“I told you, because I’m fond of you. Is this something to keep asking about?”

When Jeguk hid many words and only revealed his disappointed feelings, Ha In furrowed her brows.

“Why, did Hyun Baek Hap assign someone to follow me?”

Ha In was no fool. With her profession, she had a keen sense in that area.

Ha In put down the rice spoon she was holding and drank the water in front of her.

“Will you only have dinner with me if someone is following me?”

Jeguk calmly answered Ha In’s question, but Ha In’s sharp attitude remained the same.

“Director, I’m not that weak child who used to do menial work at the Cheonha Group mansion. I’m a prosecutor of the Republic of Korea.”

Ha In spoke clearly with strength in her voice.

If it was a challenge from Hyun Baek Hap, she didn’t want to lose.

Jeguk also put down the spoon he was holding and wiped his mouth with a napkin.

“Does a prosecutor of the Republic of Korea have about three or four lives?”

“I won’t avoid or hide from Hyun Baek Hap.”

Jeguk fully understood the extent of the hatred Ha In harbored towards Hyun Baek Hap. But this wasn’t a matter to approach that way.

Jeguk remained silent for a while, waiting for Ha In’s emotions to subside.

Ha In lowered her eyes and thought seriously. Her anger towards Hyun Baek Hap boiled up and her insides seethed.

Ha In let out a deep sigh without realizing it.

Then she suddenly raised her head towards Jeguk sitting in front of her.

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

Ha In drank another sip of the water in front of her, trying to calm down.

“No, you should be honest with your own feelings. You don’t have to hold back. I don’t mind at all.”

Jeguk’s generous expression felt comforting to Ha In.

It was more reassuring than being soothed and told to bear it.

“It would be even better if your heart feels a little better and you have dinner with me every day.”

At the end of his words, Jeguk showed a gentle smile.

His composure felt so mature. So she felt ashamed of herself for acting so childishly.

“The food has all gotten cold. What should we do?”

Ha In asked dejectedly.

“I ate plenty.”

Jeguk said that and looked at Ha In’s rice bowl. It seemed like she had only taken a couple spoonfuls.

“Should I ask them to prepare it again if you want to eat more?”

Jeguk asked Ha In.

“No. I’m done eating too.”

“Then take your medicine. There are too many reasons to forget your medicine when you go home.”

Ha In took out the medicine packet from her bag. She was so distracted that she didn’t take it out or think about taking it.

If Jeguk hadn’t told her, she would have just passed over it again.

Ha In tore open the medicine packet and poured it into her hand.

One, two, three, four, five…

There were a total of 7 pills. Ha In looked at the pills with a worried expression.

Why are there so many pills? It seemed like she would be full just from taking the pills.

She divided them into two each and took one separately.

“I didn’t want to stress you out, but I feel bad for seeming to have stressed you.”

Jeguk said what Ha In had wanted to say first.

Ha In felt sorry and couldn’t continue speaking for a moment.

“Shall we go?”

Even at Jeguk’s words, Ha In sat heavily in her seat, her heart heavy.

“I guess I’ll have to help you up again.”

Jeguk got up from his seat first and reached out his hand to Ha In.

This time, Ha In didn’t insist on doing it herself and took his hand.

Ha In felt like even her small wariness was gradually crumbling in the face of his large heart that wanted to embrace her.