“If Father returns anytime…”

Jeho continued speaking, shifting his gaze from Director Kwon to Chairman Kwon.

“You were holding it as leverage to push out Uncle and Minwoo, weren’t you? Without any need for a succession battle, just revealing a few of the embezzlements you’ve been turning a blind eye to until now would resolve everything immediately.”

“What? Where are you getting such nonsense from now!”

Deeply offended, Director Kwon glared at Jeho as if to kill him. Then he quickly turned to Chairman Kwon, as if seeking agreement.

“That’s not true, is it, Father? This guy is just spouting nonsense, right?”

Ignoring Director Kwon’s gaze, which looked at him as if pleading desperately, Chairman Kwon narrowed his eyes and remained silent.

“Father, please say something!”

Director Kwon’s face, which had been anxiously waiting for an answer, gradually twisted with a sense of betrayal.

“…Impressive.”

At last, Chairman Kwon’s tightly closed mouth opened.

“To see through even that far… How did you find out?”

“You and I have many similarities, Chairman. So I imagined what I would do if I were in your position.”

Despite the shocking content, Jeho and Chairman Kwon’s expressions remained calm, as if having an ordinary conversation.

Only Director Kwon, watching the two from the side, shuddered as if horrified. To his eyes, Jeho and Chairman Kwon looked like cold-blooded individuals who wouldn’t shed a drop of blood even if stabbed with a needle.

“But having the same thoughts doesn’t mean acting the same way. Such thoughts only remain in the mind. Acting on them would be equivalent to a crime.”

Jeho put his phone in his jacket pocket and slowly stood up from the sofa.

“I’ll give you a few days to think it over. Contact me when you’ve made your decision.”

After bowing deeply, he turned around and walked out of the chairman’s office.

As Jeho came out, the chief secretary who had been waiting in front of the elevator approached with quick steps. Jeho smiled gently at the chief secretary, who was looking at him with concern.

“It’s all over now, so you can go in. The chairman will need a warm cup of tea now. Please prepare his usual grapefruit tea with some honey added.”

Jeho slightly bowed his head and passed by the chief secretary, heading towards the elevator. The secretaries who had been eyeing each other quickly entered the chairman’s office at the chief secretary’s gesture. At the same time, the elevator doors opened.

Jeho, who had boarded the elevator, slowly turned his gaze towards the corridor. The space where the secretaries had disappeared filled his view.

As if seeing his own dejected state, Jeho clenched his fist. Even though everything had gone according to plan, he felt suffocated, as if a heavy stone was pressing down on him.

Each cruel word he had directed at Chairman Kwon had now become sharp arrows deeply embedded in Jeho’s heart.

Those who don’t know might think Vice Chairman Kwon Jewoong stepped down due to issues with overseas construction projects, but in fact, it was because of the ideological differences between father and son that clashed greatly in the process of resolving the problems.

“Hmm.”

The pain his father must have felt 10 years ago was transmitted intact. Jeho pressed his palm against his chest and leaned weakly against the elevator wall.

“You’re here.”

Secretary Kim’s face, opening the front door, looked darker than usual. Yuri looked around the interior as she entered. Without Lady An, the house felt somehow unfamiliar and empty.

“Where’s Father?”

“He’s in the study now.”

Not long after ending the call with Lady An, Secretary Kim had called. He said that since being discharged, Assemblyman Chae hadn’t eaten anything at all, and asked if she could stop by the house for a moment if she wasn’t busy.

Having heard about the divorce from Lady An, Yuri said she understood and headed straight home.

“He says ‘he has no appetite’… But I’m worried. I’m sorry for the trouble, but I asked you to come.”

“No, thank you for letting me know. I’ll try talking to Father.”

Yuri knocked on the study door and carefully opened it. Assemblyman Chae, who had been reading at his desk, looked up.

Confirming it was Yuri, Assemblyman Chae lowered his gaze back to the book he was reading. As Yuri approached closer, she frowned slightly upon seeing the book cover. Surprisingly, it was Assemblyman Jung Taehyuk’s autobiography.

“…It seems I’m finally seeing everything properly now.”

Assemblyman Chae spoke in a calm voice as he put down the book in his hand. Instead of asking what exactly he was seeing properly, Yuri silently listened to Assemblyman Chae’s words. Taking off his glasses, Assemblyman Chae rubbed between his brows and leaned his head back on the chair.

“The reason I quit being a prosecutor and jumped into politics was because of Jung Taehyuk. Because I wanted to surpass him somehow. Not even realizing my wife’s gaze was on me, not him… I was truly foolish.”

Assemblyman Chae seemed to have aged dramatically in just a few days. His dry, flaky skin and dimmed eyes that seemed to have lost focus made him look even more so. But then again, a lot had happened.

Instead of offering words of comfort, Yuri placed her hand on Assemblyman Chae’s shoulder. His gaze, which had been looking at the ceiling, naturally shifted to her.

“Don’t realize it too late like I did. Because even when you know your mistake, you can’t turn back time.”

“…I did as you advised, Father. I cleared up the misunderstandings that had built up while talking with Jeho yesterday.”

“Is that so? That’s good to hear.”

Assemblyman Chae’s lips curved into a faint smile at Yuri’s answer.

“But Father, are you really thinking of separating from Stepmother?”

“You’ve already talked to her?”

As Yuri nodded with a troubled expression, Assemblyman Chae put his glasses back on and lowered his gaze to the book.

“Misook should stop sacrificing herself and find her own life now. I can never give her what she wants.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? …That your marriage was just a formality.”

“Well, because you never asked.”

“What?”

Yuri made an expression of incomprehension at those words. When she had found out about their affair and confronted him about how they could do such a thing, he had only gotten angry and told her not to interfere in adults’ business.

“You asked, ‘Is Yuri not Mother’s daughter but Stepmother’s?’ and only asked if it ‘had been an affair?'”

“Of course I did. But if you had told me it was a formal marriage…”

“Would anything have changed if I had said that? In any case, the fact that I betrayed your mother is true. Isn’t it? …Blinded by jealousy, I committed an act that should never have been done.”

Assemblyman Chae’s face gradually darkened as he recalled the past.

“I’m truly sorry. Sorry to you, and sorry to Yuri too. …I practically threatened Misook, who was crying that she couldn’t abort the child, demanding she terminate the pregnancy. Even after Yuri was born, I didn’t properly give that child affection.”

“Father.”

“Yuri must have felt that, which is why she tried to approach me more, being affectionate.”

Assemblyman Chae had never hit Yuri. He hadn’t even playfully given her a flick on the forehead. Yuri had thought it was because he especially adored her, but now she wondered if it might have been because he didn’t care.

“You probably didn’t know, but Yuri rebelled a lot when she found out she was an illegitimate child. Once, she even ran away from home saying she would die.”

“Yuri did that?”

Yuri’s voice involuntarily rose in complete surprise.

“Yes. Not long after she started college.”

“I didn’t know. I thought she had just gone on a trip with friends…”

“Yuri must have thoroughly hidden it from you out of her own sense of shame.”

Assemblyman Chae calmly explained the big and small family matters that Yuri had been unaware of until now.

“In any case, it’s all my fault. We could have been a happy family… I ruined everything because of me.”

“Father.”

Yuri bent down to meet Assemblyman Chae’s eye level and carefully began to speak.

“Let me be honest. No matter how much you apologize and say you’re sorry, I can’t bring myself to say empty words like I understand or it’s okay now.”

The pain that had accumulated over the past 10 years couldn’t easily disappear with a few words of apology.

Even if she understood how shocked Assemblyman Chae was upon realizing his wife’s true feelings. If all the resentment had washed away in an instant like water, that would be a blatant lie.

“But.”

Yuri wrapped both hands around Assemblyman Chae’s shoulders and continued speaking in a calm voice.

“Let’s try to make an effort little by little from now on. Both you and I still have time to make things right. So stop being sad and despairing. Mother wouldn’t want to see you like this either.”

“…Yes, you’re right.”

“Then start with eating first. You’ll collapse again at this rate. You need to be healthy to make things right. From now on, you need to show us what a happy family is.”

For a moment, Assemblyman Chae’s eyes turned red as he looked at Yuri. Although he didn’t shed tears, it was clear he was overwhelmed with more intense emotions than ever before. With a somewhat awkward gesture, Yuri stretched out her arms and embraced Assemblyman Chae.

“…Alright, Yuri.”

Assemblyman Chae’s sunken voice trembled faintly.

“I’ll try my best to make it happen.”

And then the two didn’t say anything more. Only their steady breathing filled the study.

How much time had passed?

As their heightened emotions settled and they released their embrace, there was a knock on the door.

“Yes, come in.”

Thinking it was Secretary Kim, the person who entered the study when the door opened was Jeho. Jeho smiled at the surprised Yuri, then immediately approached Assemblyman Chae and stated his business.

“I called Secretary Kim, and he said you were at home, so I came. I thought I should tell you in person. Father has woken up.”

“Jewoong has?”

Assemblyman Chae’s face, which had been dark until then, brightened a little.

“Yes. He still needs to rest, but his condition is improving rapidly.”

“That’s good. Really good news.”

“He even had a brief phone call with the Chairman earlier.”

“With the Chairman? …Then.”

Although he didn’t ask explicitly, Jeho nodded slowly as if understanding what the question was.

“Yes, I just came from meeting the Chairman. I gave him a few days to think it over. He’ll contact me when he’s made his decision.”

“I don’t know what decision the Chairman will make… But if you need any help, don’t hesitate to call.”

“Thank you.”

If Chairman Kwon refused to accept resignation and decided to wage an all-out war, the plan was to release the list Assemblyman Chae had in his possession.

The list of public officials who had received bribes included names of members of the same party. Because of this, Assemblyman Chae had been reluctant to release the list and had warned Vice Chairman Kwon and Jeho to stop here.

But not anymore. Until the day he resigns as a member of the National Assembly, he must clean up the injustices he had turned a blind eye to with his own hands. Only then would he be a little less ashamed before his deceased wife.

“It seems like an important conversation, so I’ll go out and prepare the meal.”

As Jeho and Assemblyman Chae’s expressions turned serious, Yuri quietly slipped out of the study. As she came out, Secretary Kim, who had been waiting in the hallway, approached with a worried face.

“Don’t worry. He said he’ll eat.”

At those words, Secretary Kim exhaled in relief.

Yuri went to the kitchen with him and heated up the abalone porridge that had been bought this morning in the microwave. As she was putting side dishes in bowls and placing them on the table, Assemblyman Chae and Jeho, having finished their conversation, entered the dining room.

“Don’t worry about me and go with Jeho now. You’ll need to hurry if you want to arrive before they close.”

Arrive before they close? Where?

Yuri looked back and forth between Assemblyman Chae and Jeho as if asking what they meant. Jeho then said with a smile on his lips:

“Oh my, did I forget what I promised last time?”

What I promised last time?

Yuri’s eyes narrowed with a puzzled expression.