Lee Je Guk, seated at the table, kept glancing at his phone. It had been a while since he sent a message, but the reply was taking forever.

Is she very busy today too?

Thinking that no news was rather good news, he tried to stop worrying.

It was not even past 8 o’clock yet, so telling Ha In to quickly finish work and come home would be excessive interference.

Since the head of security had also sent an “all clear” sign, he only needed to stay tense until receiving the notification that Ha In had passed through the village’s main gate.

Je Guk turned on the penthouse CCTV screen for no reason. But somehow, the screen was pitch black.

So he also checked the CCTV screens along the road leading to the house. All the street lights were out.

When facilities malfunction, it’s standard to send a notification message to the residents, so he wondered what was going on.

Feeling something strange, Je Guk contacted the head of security.

– It seems all the street lights inside the village are out. Please check if something happened.

Not long after Je Guk sent the message, a reply came from the head of security.

– They say the street light bulbs are out and under repair. They can’t provide details to me since I’m not a resident.

Given the security characteristics of the village, it wasn’t wrong, but Je Guk felt frustrated. Moreover, he was even more worried because it was the path Ha In would take.

It was not his place to tell the head of security to change the street light bulbs.

A foreign company representative who had enjoyed the fireworks was walking towards the interior. Je Guk covered his phone.

Je Guk sat at the table with the representative. Even while conversing, all his attention kept turning towards Seoul.

Fortunately, the first day’s schedule could wrap up early in consideration of the guests from overseas.

After seeing off the guests, Je Guk left the banquet hall and came to the lobby.

The time when he finished the dinner banquet was 9 o’clock. If he left now, he would be able to arrive in Seoul before midnight.

Je Guk quickly headed to Seoul in the waiting car.

Although he trusted the bodyguards protecting Ha In up to the village, he felt uneasy.

Rather than spending such an uncomfortable night, it was better to go there despite the trouble.

If he went to Seoul now, Ha In would be surprised and ask why he came, but there was no other way.

It wasn’t overseas, and he could endure this much hardship domestically.

Je Guk increased the speed, thinking it was the street lights’ fault for malfunctioning on a day like this.

Just then, a short and solid vibration rang on Je Guk’s phone. It was a reply from Ha In.

As Je Guk was about to reply to Ha In, a call came from the secretary.

– Director, the Chairman says he wants to have a light drink with you. What should we do?

What to do about this? A sigh automatically escaped.

He couldn’t turn the car around now, and even if he could, Je Guk had made up his mind to go to Ha In.

“Please tell him that I went to personally pick up a precious gift that just arrived in Seoul. Say that I will arrive before the morning schedule tomorrow. Let’s do that.”

The precious gift part was true, but it had not just arrived in Seoul.

In such an important event, there was no case of preparing a gift at the last minute of the schedule. He had to lie like that.

“Please contact me right after relaying the message.”

Je Guk pressed the accelerator harder and increased the speed.

* * *

The security guard, who had been endlessly kind, turned into a bird of prey and chased after Ha In.

“Stop right there!”

Ha In was so frightened that she couldn’t even scream.

She ran for dear life towards the village exit, but the security guard stuck right behind her.

Ha In gritted her teeth and sprinted at a distance where he could reach her if he just stretched out his hand, but it was no use.

Ha In ran frantically without even realizing her shoes had come off.

Some men were rushing towards Ha In at the village entrance.

Ha In had no capacity to judge whether to stop or run, so she just ran forward unconditionally.

They did not grab or harm Ha In, but clashed with the people behind her.

“Haa, ha.”

Ha In turned around, catching her rough breath.

The situation was too chaotic to judge what was going on. As she tried to run away from the village again, a car was rushing towards her.

Blinded by the bright headlights, Ha In unwittingly stopped her feet. And she raised her arms to cover her eyes.

At that moment, Ha In gave up on everything. She had no more strength to run.

It was beyond her to avoid the car rushing towards her.

As she was about to collapse with her strength draining from her legs, a rough hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her hard. Ha In was limply dragged by that hand.

“Ha In! Are you okay?”

It was Je Guk.

“Director, how are you here…?”

Ha In couldn’t believe if this was a dream or reality.

In the moment of crisis, the men who had climbed over the village wall were the bodyguards Je Guk had assigned.

They had moved hastily, unable to wait until Je Guk arrived.

“Let’s go.”

Je Guk grabbed Ha In’s hand and pulled her.

“Watch out!”

Just then, someone shouted at Ha In and Je Guk. Startled by the voice, Je Guk looked in that direction.

In a split second, a man holding a weapon in his hand threw himself towards Ha In. Je Guk pulled Ha In with all his might and hid her behind him.

Ha In’s view was obscured by his back.

One of the bodyguards blocked that man, but he had already reached out his hand.

Je Guk’s entire body tensed up from the pain piercing his abdomen.

Even in the midst of that, he bit his teeth and endured it, fearing he might grip Ha In’s wrist too tightly.

“Director…!”

As Ha In tried to check on Je Guk, he held her so that she couldn’t see him.

The man who had attacked Je Guk while trying to harm Ha In was startled and surprised.

The bodyguard pushed him away with all his might, but it was already too late.

“Director! Are you alright!”

The man was so flustered that he dropped what he was holding in his hand.

With the sound of metal hitting the floor, Je Guk fell to his knees with a thud.

The man pushed away the bodyguard trying to grab him and ran away. The bodyguard chased after him.

“No, no… No!”

Ha In couldn’t believe this situation, but with the thought of catching the fleeing man, she moved her body.

The moment Ha In tried to take a step, Je Guk grabbed her with his last ounce of strength.

“Where… are you going… without any fear…”

Ha In’s world stopped at his words. Tears slowly welled up in Ha In’s broken tear ducts.

“I told you so earnestly.”

Je Guk couldn’t finish his words and collapsed powerlessly. The tears that had filled Ha In’s eyes also fell down her cheeks.

“Director! Director! No…!”

Ha In placed her hands on Je Guk’s abdomen.

“Please come here quickly! Here! Just track my cell phone’s location! Hurry! Please! Come quickly. Please save our director. Please help me!”

Mom had also left the world like this.

She hid Ha In somewhere and never came back to find her.

Perhaps if Ha In had cried with all her might that day without listening to Mom’s words. If she had kicked open that expensive furniture and come out, could she have saved Mom?

Ha In was so scared.

If Je Guk also left her arms like this, she felt like she wouldn’t be able to forgive herself and live.

Ha In was determined to scream, cry, and seek help with all her might, no matter who scared her or said she couldn’t.

“Help me! Sob, please help me.”

– Yes, we’ve confirmed the location. We’ll dispatch right away.

Ha In spoke as if she was suffocating. She threw away her phone and pressed Je Guk’s abdomen desperately with both hands.

“No, no, no! Sob…! Ah…! No!”

Ha In wailed as if she would vomit blood. She hated herself for being so powerless.

“Director! Please answer me! It’s me! Ha In! Sob…”

His face, which always welcomed her happily whenever she said she came, was gone.

“Ah! Ah, no! You know I can’t live without you, Director!”

The street lights, yellow like marigolds, turned on above the head of Ha In, who was crying like a lost child.

She was about to be happy. She was about to dream of a happy future.

Well, she said she wouldn’t be happy.

She blamed herself for being too greedy in a life where even candy-sized happiness was not allowed.

“I was about to be happy. It’s all because of me. Sob.”

Ha In was so anguished. She wished she had died instead.

She knelt desperately and pressed Je Guk’s abdomen with both hands.

“I don’t mind living in hell for the rest of my life. Director, I don’t need to be happy! So please, please. It’s all my fault. It’s all because of me! Sob… It’s because I tried to be happy!”

Je Guk, who had always been warm, was lying there without any movement like a dead person, his body temperature cooling down.

He always worried that Ha In’s hands were cold, but now his body was becoming colder than her hands.

The truly fortunate thing was that the ambulance arrived quickly.

“We will transport the patient. Please step back, guardian.”

The paramedic spoke, but Ha In couldn’t take her hands off Je Guk’s abdomen.

“Guardian! We will transport the patient!”

When the paramedic spoke loudly, Ha In finally came to her senses. Still, she was so afraid to let go of Je Guk.

“I want to go like this. I will accompany him.”

Ha In got on the ambulance with Je Guk, and the head of security joined them.

“Please go to Sunhwa Medical Foundation.”

Ha In headed to the place where Je Guk could receive the most comfortable treatment.

“Doctor, I will hold him.”

The head of security spoke, but Ha In was too afraid that something might go wrong with Je Guk, so she absolutely could not let go.

“No. I will hold him like this. Haa.”

Ha In watched over Je Guk, catching her breath.

When Je Guk’s lips turned blue, Ha In closed her eyes because it became too hard to keep looking at him.