The chief prosecutor looked at Ha In.

Ha In couldn’t bring herself to agree to it.

However, giving up the investigation here was not an option. She just wanted to escape far away from his gaze.

“I didn’t know Prosecutor Cheon would struggle this much. I thought you were going to give up.”

Ha In took the warrant handed over by the chief prosecutor.

“I’ll be back.”

Ha In trembled inwardly with guilt towards Je Guk. Nevertheless, she couldn’t stop her lifelong revenge here.

She hoped that Je Guk would understand the countless worries she had before accepting this warrant.

Before leaving the prosecutor’s office, Ha In called Je Guk.

She didn’t have the courage to tell him through text. As expected, he was in a meeting and didn’t pick up the phone.

Without being able to give Je Guk any hint, Ha In got into the prosecutor’s office car and headed to Cheonha Group.

Why was it raining so much today? The raindrops smearing on the car window made her vision hazy.

She wished it would rain heavily enough to make the car unable to move.

Or she hoped the car she was riding in would overturn and become unable to go.

She desperately wished her delusions would become reality.

‘Turn right 500m ahead. You will arrive at your destination soon.’

The navigation clearly said. Even without it telling her, Cheonha Group’s building came into Ha In’s view.

The building’s appearance was clear despite the thick raindrops.

She couldn’t think of what to say if she ran into Je Guk by any chance.

Although the miracle of Je Guk not knowing what was happening at Cheonha Group wouldn’t occur, she had a desperate wish to at least not run into him at this moment.

“Prosecutor, we’ve arrived.”

Ha In hesitated, unable to get out of the car.

* * *

It rained all day long.

They say it’s the rain that urges the seasons, so it seems autumn is almost over. The weather seemed like the raindrops would soon turn into snow.

Je Guk briefly appreciated the rain announcing the end of autumn through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the director’s office he stopped by in the middle of the meeting.

Even so, whenever he had a chance, he worried about Ha In, thinking, ‘What if our Ha In’s hands are cold?’

The aroma of warm coffee the secretary placed on the desk spread faintly in the director’s office.

“Director, preparations for the next meeting are complete.”

The secretary came in and informed him of the schedule.

“Okay.”

Je Guk answered, but he didn’t want to go. He wanted to sit in the director’s office, drink warm coffee, and have some leisure time.

He especially wanted to avoid the upcoming meeting.

It was a meeting with executives ranging from middle-aged weasels to old foxes who were on Je Guk’s side on the surface but only cared about their own interests.

Each of them had power within the organization and clear desires, so dealing with them was far from easy.

They were people who wanted to somehow make Je Guk the chairman and enjoy their influence. However, Je Guk was not someone to be swayed by their intentions.

They had to discuss stock prices with the executives, but it was clear that the conversation would start with Chairman Lee again.

After Je Guk kept his director position, the atmosphere in the meeting room became even colder.

It wasn’t coldness towards Je Guk. Voices began to emerge that Chairman Lee should step down from management.

It wasn’t that he felt uncomfortable because he wanted to take Chairman Lee’s side.

There was a right time for everything, and now was not the timing for Chairman Lee to step down and take responsibility.

If Chairman Lee stepped down from the chairman position and had nothing more to lose, the pressure card would also disappear.

However, they moved solely in pursuit of immediate profits based on their interests and greed.

He had long known that in management, there were no perfect allies or complete enemies.

But these days, as his fatigue reached its peak, he was tired of even coaxing and appeasing them.

Today was no different.

“You should draw the line with the chairman now.”

“Look at the market capitalization that flew away just today. The rumors circulating in the securities industry’s tabloids may not all be believable, but the ominous rumors are unspeakable.”

The executives each spoke about Chairman Lee.

Meanwhile, his cell phone vibrated, but the atmosphere was not at all conducive to turning his eyes to the screen. Je Guk turned off the phone’s vibration sound and listened to the executives’ voices.

Listening to the sounds coming out of their mouths, Je Guk felt embarrassed.

They seemed to all know that his relationship with Chairman Lee had become as strained as it could be.

“Director, Chairman Lee personally proposed a motion to dismiss you from the director position, so what reason do you have to endure it?”

With that question, Je Guk could lighten the burden on his mind a little.

It wasn’t because of what he said that they were speculating about the discord between father and son.

It was because of the official actions Chairman Lee had taken that they were making a fuss.

Chairman Lee was Je Guk’s father, but he was also the head of a company. It was not right to make emotional decisions about such a person’s moves.

“Just because we make the chairman step down doesn’t mean it will end there. Someone might view the chairman’s stepping down as an irresponsible act, don’t you think?”

“Well, can’t you, Director, just manage the company then? Didn’t you confirm the shareholders’ trust in the vote on the motion to dismiss the representative director this time?”

Je Guk didn’t want to inherit the head position in this way.

In particular, Je Guk did not want to make Chairman Lee harbor hatred that his position was taken away by his son.

“I’m saying let’s be cautious.”

Je Guk was busy placating the executives.

“My determination remains unchanged that if fatal flaws in the chairman’s office are found during this judicial risk investigation, I will decide on the head’s position afterward.”

The executives didn’t pester him any further as Je Guk’s intention was so firm.

They knew well that once Je Guk set his mind to something, he would push through no matter what happened.

To overturn Je Guk’s intention, they needed a corresponding logic.

“Then, shall we go over the overseas investment situation now?”

As Je Guk tried to continue speaking, a message popped up on his monitor.

– Director, the prosecution has notified us that they will conduct a search and seizure.

It was a text from the chief secretary.

Je Guk’s eyes, which had been unwavering even under the executives’ piercing questions, trembled slightly. He had no choice but to reply.

– What search and seizure all of a sudden?

Je Guk replied. It was a short time, but Je Guk anxiously waited for a response.

– It’s a search and seizure of the chairman’s office.

– Who is the prosecutor in charge? Also, find out the chairman’s office’s stance.

– It’s Prosecutor Cheon Ha In. The chairman’s office’s position is that they will stop the search and seizure procedure, which came in as a surprise, with all their might, sparing no means or methods, taking issue with the procedure.

Je Guk looked at his watch and turned his eyes to the executives.

– Control the lobby targeting the employees.

Not long after Je Guk sent the text, an announcement flowed out.

– Currently, access to the 1st-floor elevators in the main building is restricted due to maintenance. Due to safety issues, access to the 1st floor and lobby of the main building is restricted. We apologize for the inconvenience, but we ask that employees use the skywalk to access the annex building elevators. Thank you.

The announcement drew the attention of everyone in the meeting room.

The problem was this meeting.

Even now, Ha In would be getting closer to this place. Outside the window, thick raindrops were still falling.

With the current stance of the chairman’s office, even if Ha In stood in this rain all day, they wouldn’t open the door for her.

Contemplating how to get out of this place and go to Ha In, he made a decision.

“I heard there will be a search and seizure by the prosecution soon. They may have already arrived.”

At those words, the executives were greatly agitated.

“So I have to go out now.”

Je Guk, who had to go to Ha In, chose to break through head-on.

The executives were in an uproar.

“Are you saying you’re going directly to stop them?”

“Take a look, Director. The more Chairman Lee resists, the more humiliation Cheonha Group will suffer.”

The executives poured out their resentment towards Chairman Lee. The executives each expressed their opinions, holding Je Guk back.

Je Guk almost let out a deep sigh.

“How are you going to stop the prosecution?”

“Is stopping them the wise thing to do? If the prosecution’s request is reasonable, I intend to humbly accept it.”

“What?”

They looked startled.

“It’s a search and seizure targeting the chairman’s office.”

At the words that came out of Je Guk’s mouth, the executives’ calculators quickly turned.

What they wanted was for the chairman to step down, so there was no reason to stop this situation.

“If no fatal evidence comes out, that’s the end of it, and if something does come out…”

It would turn out the way they wanted. However, Je Guk didn’t bring up the story that blatantly revealed their inner thoughts because it was embarrassing.

“We can respond accordingly, can’t we?”

Je Guk moderately presented what they wanted and took what he needed.

When Je Guk proposed a reasonable solution, they no longer objected.

The people in the meeting room reached an agreement through silence.

As soon as Je Guk left the meeting room, the chief secretary and executive secretaries followed him.

“What’s the situation now?”

“They’re in a standoff outside the building entrance.”

“Outside the entrance, not even at the gate?”

Thick rain was falling outside.

“Yes, that’s right. The chairman’s office said not to let them take a single step inside the building, no, inside Cheonha Group’s land.”

The executive secretary pressed the elevator button and opened the door for Je Guk to get in.

Je Guk, who got on the elevator, tried to calmly organize his thoughts until he reached the 1st floor, but his mind was complicated by the sudden situation.

Either let her in safely or send her back. It was one of the two, but Je Guk knew the latter would be difficult.