It was Kang Jun, not Ha In, who was more shocked. Kang Jun stood in front of Chairman Lee, glaring at him with wide eyes.

“Stop it before I arrest you for caught in the act!”

The lawyers tensed up, worried that Kang Jun might hit Chairman Lee.

With his current momentum, it seemed like he could easily beat up Chairman Lee and still have energy left over.

Kang Jun, with his fists clenched, focused on taking care of Ha In rather than hitting Chairman Lee.

“Sunbae, are you okay? Try to get a hold of yourself!”

It was difficult to calm the situation.

The head of the legal department stood in front of Chairman Lee, sweating profusely.

“Chairman, this is really problematic.”

He spoke in a calm voice, trying his best. The head of the legal department looked at Chairman Lee with a very earnest gaze.

“Hmph.”

Only then did Chairman Lee come to his senses. His fierce eyes turned towards Ha In once more.

“Chairman, I’ll ask them to wrap things up here, so please wait a moment.”

Chairman Lee barely nodded in agreement.

“I think we should end the investigation here for today, so everyone please leave!”

Before the head of the legal department could make the request, Kang Jun announced the end of the investigation first. Chairman Lee and the lawyers hurriedly left the interrogation room.

“We need to transfer her to the hospital! Call an ambulance!”

Kang Jun asked the investigators to help him lift Ha In.

As Kang Jun tried to lift Ha In’s body, she faintly raised her eyelids.

“I’m… fine.”

Ha In wrinkled her face intensely and then relaxed it, trying to regain her senses.

“I’m really okay.”

In fact, she wasn’t okay at all.

It would have been better if she had died, but she woke up again like this.

Ha In felt even the gazes of the people looking at her to be painful, so she quickly got up.

Kang Jun tried to support the staggering Ha In, but she refused his hand.

“Detective Choi, now’s not the time for this.”

“The investigators have been dispatched now.”

“Please take care of the Cheonha Medical Foundation case sincerely.”

After saying that, Ha In walked out into the hallway.

Out of habit, she headed for the stairs instead of the elevator and kept climbing without even realizing she was out of breath.

When she reached the rooftop where there was nowhere else to go, Ha In stopped walking.

“Haa……”

Her whole body trembled. Sadness washed over her, but no tears came out. She was gripped by the same fear she had felt as a child.

Ha In blankly opened the iron door and trudged towards the end of the rooftop railing.

The cold wind pushing into her lungs felt numb.

Ha In’s gaze lingered somewhere far away. Her vision was blurry, so nothing was clear, but she thought it was better that way.

She wanted to deceive herself like that. She wished that what had just happened and her painful past would all become blurry like this.

“Ah…”

Ha In let out an anguished sound.

She was so furious that the magnitude of her anger seemed to torment her insides instead of exploding outward.

It was funny how the only thing that had changed under the pretense of revenge was herself.

Her efforts of grinding her bones and drying her blood felt so futile that she came to dislike herself.

“Mom, you should have taken me with you too.”

Her gaze ‘dropped’ down from the rooftop.

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

Was it trying to hold her back, telling her not to do this? Urging her to come to her senses?

But Ha In didn’t take out her phone to check. She didn’t want to communicate with anyone.

The vibration in Ha In’s pocket kept ringing, but she stood there until the tip of her nose turned red from the cold and her fingertips grew numb.

– I heard Ha In completely shattered today. Big news.

– Does the chairman of Cheonha Group think he’s some neighborhood thug? He’s been so arrogant.

Such voices could be heard from beyond the iron door. Their chatter got closer and closer, and soon the iron door opened.

What brought Ha In back to her senses was not comfort, but gossip. It seemed like the considerate thing to do was to step aside so they could gossip comfortably.

Those who made eye contact with Ha In spilled the mixed coffee in their hands from stammering. That was because Ha In’s eyes were filled with venom.

From the standpoint of being caught gossiping, she didn’t want to avoid eye contact first. They averted their eyes first, and Ha In walked forward with heavy steps.

In front of Ha In’s office were unfamiliar people. It seemed like she had seen their faces before. They were lawyers from Cheonha Group’s legal department.

Were they trying to cover up Chairman Lee’s case? It was so obvious that they wanted to say something absurd, it made her irritated.

They only greeted Ha In and didn’t say anything. So Ha In also entered her office without a word.

When Ha In entered the office, Kang Jun had a very uncomfortable expression.

Next to him stood the head of Cheonha Group’s legal department with his usual calm expression.

“Detective Choi, why are you still here? How many times have I told you I’m counting on you?”

Ha In also knew what the situation was, but her voice gained strength without her knowing.

“While we were in the subpoena investigation, the investigators were dispatched first and the investigation is proceeding smoothly. I was going to accompany them when the next team is deployed. In 5 minutes.”

“That’s enough. Detective Choi, stay here. If it’s in 5 minutes, I can go myself. I’ll go in person.”

“Ah, about that… Sunbae…”

Kang Jun stammered, guessing that Ha In would hate it.

Ha In glanced at the head of the legal department.

“I don’t want to beat around the bush, so send him away.”

At that moment, the head of the legal department took a step towards Ha In, and she glared at him with sharp eyes.

But then, she felt someone’s movement behind his back.

“Our executive director wants to personally apologize to you, so he came to see you directly.”

Ha In’s eyes shook briefly. Since she didn’t answer the phone, Je Guk had rushed over.

It seemed this news hadn’t reached the ears of the prosecutors she encountered on the rooftop earlier.

If they had also gossiped about this, she would have had several options like returning to the office, avoiding them, or watching from outside.

Je Guk approached Ha In.

“Prosecutor Cheon Ha In, we’ve met before. I’m Lee Je Guk from Cheonha Group.”

His firm tone of voice contained various complex emotions. Je Guk held out his hand towards Ha In.

It was also complicated for Ha In.

Je Guk didn’t withdraw his hand until Ha In accepted the handshake.

Ha In couldn’t cruelly reject his hand and shook it. When her icy hand touched his warm hand, it tingled.

“Wait, may I have a moment alone with her?”

Je Guk finished the brief handshake and said.

“Do we need to meet with a lawyer present?”

Ha In hesitated for a moment and looked at Kang Jun.

“Sunbae, I should get going now.”

When Ha In nodded, Kang Jun and the head of the legal department left the office.

The two were silent for a while.

At the end of the heavy silence, Je Guk spoke first.

“Prosecutor Cheon Ha In.”

“Why did you come all the way here? Go back.”

Still in turmoil, Ha In didn’t have the confidence to face Je Guk.

“Right, I called you so many times but you didn’t answer a single one, so you made me come all the way here.”

Je Guk was looking at Ha In with poignant eyes. He really thought something had happened to her and rushed over, putting everything aside.

He wanted to see Ha In, but he also came to apologize.

There was no need to ask how deeply she had been hurt. Je Guk found it hard to open his mouth.

“I came to apologize. Our chairman’s atrocities, it’s unforgivable, right?”

Ha In looked up at Je Guk with resentful eyes.

“Why, why are you apologizing for that, Executive Director? Why do you always apologize, compensate, and take responsibility?”

It was because it seemed like no one would apologize. But still, it felt like someone had to apologize.

It wasn’t words that would comfort Ha In’s heart.

“I’m sorry.”

So the only thing he could say was that he was sorry.

Ha In shook her head, hating the apology she was hearing from Je Guk.

“Prosecutor Cheon Ha In.”

Je Guk called her once more. Ha In kept her mouth tightly shut and didn’t answer.

She didn’t even make eye contact with him. Her heart, closed off from the shock, didn’t open easily.

“Go back.”

“The reason I came here today is not to cover up the chairman’s faults. It’s because I hoped Prosecutor Cheon Ha In would be okay.”

At those words, Ha In bit her lip lightly, avoiding his gaze.

“I won’t tell you to forgive him. I just hope your heart will feel a bit better.”

Je Guk suppressed his desire to hug Ha In.

He reminded himself once again that they were meeting as Executive Director Lee Je Guk and Prosecutor Cheon Ha In.

* * *

“Chairman, shall we take you back to the hospital?”

Chairman Lee stared out the window without answering. Even though he had vented his anger on Ha In, every single word that came out of her mouth bothered him.

As he tapped on the calculator, Chairman Lee made up his mind. He prioritized the company over the already deceased Yoon Joo Hwa.

Chairman Lee looked towards the driver’s seat.

“No, tell me the location of that factory. I need to see it with my own eyes.”

It was the subcontractor management that he had entrusted to Hyun Baek Hap.

He firmly believed that his incomparable wife could not have deceived him.

He only thought that both Je Guk and the legal department were being fooled by Ha In’s trickery.

The factory Chairman Lee arrived at was operating well without any issues.

“See! What did I say? Just wait and see what I do to them!”

Chairman Lee entered the factory office.

Somehow, the inside of the office was deserted. The manager and director positions were all vacant, with only nameplates.

“Call the factory manager.”

Chairman Lee spoke to the secretary. The secretary called the factory manager, but he wasn’t at the factory.

From that moment, Chairman Lee felt something was off.

“What is he doing, leaving his post at such a sensitive time? Tell him to come quickly. I have urgent matters to discuss.”

At Chairman Lee’s summons, the factory manager rushed over. His face had turned pale.

“Ah, hello Chairman.”

It was the factory manager’s first time seeing Chairman Lee’s face.

It was really rare for a subcontractor’s factory manager to directly meet the head of the group.

“Why are all the positions vacant here? What’s going on at the factory today? Tell everyone to come in.”

“Ah, that… Today everyone is on leave.”

Chairman Lee’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“Bring the full list of factory employees. Along with the salary statements.”

“What?”

Chairman Lee was also someone who used to directly manage everything on the frontlines.

He was also famous for his relentless questioning once he started suspecting something. That’s how he had fought for and built Cheonha Group.