“Me, would you like a hug?”

Her voice, soaked with moisture, was trembling delicately.

Instead of asking what was going on, Jeho tightly embraced Yuli. As his warm body enveloped her, the confusing emotions seemed to calm down a bit. Nevertheless, the sharp pain inflicted by the ruthless reality didn’t completely disappear.

The conversation she had with her father still lingered in her ears.

―What if it were Yuri?

―If it were Yuri… it might have been different.

Representative Chae was strict with Yuli, but exceedingly gentle with Yuri. He had shown exceptional favoritism towards Yuri since she was young.

At first, Yuli understood it as favoritism due to Yuri being the youngest. She thought it might be because Yuri, who lost her mother at a younger age than Yuli, was pitiable. However, when she found out that Yuri’s stepmother was not her deceased mother but a newly married stepmother, she couldn’t feel that way anymore.

Betrayers, Yuli had to avoid Yuri for a while. It took a long time for her to accept Yuri again as her younger sister, but even now, there were moments when she felt a certain distance, especially at times like this.

―She’s not as clever as you. She’s just a naive child.

Representative Chae still referred to Yuri as a naive child. Perhaps it meant he wanted to be attentive to her, given his gaze, caring for her meticulously. But what about Yuli? Did she have a time when she was naive?

After her mother passed away, and in her early teenage years, being mobilized for election campaigns, Representative Chae demanded mature thoughts and actions from her. While Yuri spent time eating tteokbokki and chatting with friends, Yuli had to sit in the election office and read the speech given to her by an assistant.

Back then, she thought it was only natural. It was better to be with her father than staying alone in a motherless home. That was until she found out about the affair between Representative Chae and Assistant Ahn.

“Sigh.”

Exhaling deeply, Yuli buried her face in Jeho’s chest.

She didn’t wish for love. Could she lean on her father momentarily when things were tough? Just a bit of comfort would be enough. Was it too much to ask him to say things like, “Are you okay?”, “Didn’t get hurt, thankfully,” or “It’s good you’re safe,” just like an ordinary father?

When Yuli maintained silence without saying anything, Jeho sat beside her, gently stroking her back. It seemed like he thought she was still in a state of shock from what had just happened. He delicately kissed her cheek, massaging the back of her neck as if to give her comfort.

“Relax. It’s all over now.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Yuli mumbled softly, placing her arms around Jeho’s waist.

Don’t express your sorrow. Yet, at this moment, he was by her side. Her heart swelled with gratitude for someone worrying about her and protecting her. And the fact that she loved that someone…

“Sigh.”

A long breath of relief escaped her.
The thought that falling in love with someone might not be such a bad thing began to cross her mind. Someday, there might be fear of getting hurt, but she realized that even if she got hurt, she could receive warm comfort.

Whether he loved her or not wasn’t important. What mattered was the fact that she loved him.

Is there really a need to avoid the emotion called love?

Perhaps… a sprout of hope was wriggling, trying to grow in her heart.

Yuli leaned back, looking at Jeho. As she silently gazed at him, Jeho’s lips softened without asking why. Instead of asking why, he gently stroked her head.

“Thank you.”

She spoke with sincerity in her eyes. She still didn’t have the courage to say she loved him. However, she could express her gratitude.

“For being by my side, thank you so much.”

I’ll gather courage.

The courage to love you.

Yuli whispered the words she couldn’t say aloud, smiling at him.

Upon arriving home, Jeho headed to the kitchen first to have coffee. Yuli leaned against the Irish table, watching Jeho operate the espresso machine.

“My father said Minwoo handled everything smoothly… but I didn’t ask exactly how he handled it.”

“He’ll probably be assigned to an overseas branch for a few years.”

“Not sent to prison as a current offender?”

“Even if they put him in as a current offender, it’s more likely to end with a suspended sentence. It’s more effective to send him abroad, handle what he’s done, and eliminate the close associates within the group at the same time.”

As expected, Chairman Kwon had already completed the task of sending Minwoo abroad. Jeho not only found out about it but also sensed other corruptions, embezzlement, and assaults, including those of Vice President Kwon. Of course, including the wrongdoings and mistakes of Vice President Kwon.

While pretending not to know in front, Chairman Kwon saw through everything behind the scenes. The question here was, even though he knew everything, why didn’t he intervene once? After Chairman Kwon stepped down, Vice President Kwon Wusik started corruption in earnest.