Director Kwon began to suspect Minwoo gradually. Honestly, despite being his son’s friend, Minwoo was not in his right mind.

“Jeho grew up thinking that KG Group was his, so now that it’s passed on to Minwoo, he must be furious.”

Is that really the reason? Just because of that?

Yuri pondered Director Kwon’s recent words carefully. The content was far removed from the Jeho Kwon she knew. However, that was only the Jeho Kwon she knew.

Ha, even though I don’t know with what intentions he approached…

She shook her head with a self-deprecating smile. Nevertheless, she couldn’t accept Director Kwon’s words at face value.

“I can’t decide right away.”

“Fine. I’ll give you time to think. However, it’s better not to inform your father. Remember, birds listen to daytime talk, and mice listen to nighttime talk. Who do you think Minwoo learned wiretapping from?”

Perhaps it could be so shameless…
Yuri stared at Director Kwon, who was casually mentioning wiretapping, with a bewildered expression. However, he sipped whiskey without a care in the world.

“When you decide, contact me. Hand over the swapped fake ledger. After all, I’m not creating an opportunity for myself to escape without any trouble just to ask you for such a favor. We have a certain connection. Nevertheless, weren’t we almost about to become father-in-law and daughter-in-law?”

Fortunately, ten years ago, when Yuri handed it over to Manager Yoon, there was a spare ledger that she kept. Since she also had a copy, she could hire an expert to create a fake ledger. Afterward, swapping it with the ledger in the safe was all it took.

The fake ledger was designed to manipulate the numbers subtly, making it appear not as embezzlement but rather as secretly making up for the losses on behalf of Vice Chairman Kwon.

Unaware of this, Jeho would probably go to the regular board meeting with the swapped ledger and end up embarrassed.

“Hahaha.”

Just imagining Jeho’s face contorted in embarrassment made Director Kwon burst into laughter.

Yuri, witnessing Director Kwon unexpectedly burst into laughter, looked at him with a perplexed expression.

Like father, like son.

Director Kwon and Kwon Minwoo. They were truly father and son.

Yuri left the Gapyeong villa about an hour after arriving. It was difficult to take even a single step, but she urged herself forward. Once in the car, Secretary Nam cautiously asked about the destination.

“Where should I take you?”

Well, where should I go?

Yuri, gazing out the window in silence, spoke as if murmuring.

“…Just go to a busy place.”

“What?”

“Anywhere is fine. Just take me to a crowded place.”

Secretary Nam wore an awkward expression but soon started the car. After driving for a while, the place where the wheels stopped was near Gwanghwamun. Secretary Nam, who dropped Yuri off, bowed politely and quickly disappeared from sight in the car.

Left alone, Yuri slowly looked around. The street was bustling with people who had come out to enjoy their Friday night, leaving no room to place a foot.

Amidst the crowded streets, she silently walked and walked. However, a conclusion was not easily reached.

To swap a ledger without knowing its contents.

Even though she wanted to take revenge on Jeho, it wasn’t like this. However, she couldn’t just leave the fact that Yuri was an illegitimate child exposed to the world.

When leaving the villa, Director Kwon’s last words came to her mind.

“It’s not something to be proud of, but… You know very well what kind of things Minwoo has done all this time. Why do you think you’ve been unscathed until now? Because Minwoo loved you horribly?”

Unable to provide any response, Yuri recalled Director Kwon’s cruel smile as he continued speaking.
―No, it’s all thanks to your background. If Representative Chae collapses due to this scandal, he won’t be able to protect you anymore. What if Minwoo comes back? Think about it carefully.

The mere imagination of Minwoo coming back sent shivers down her spine. Stopping abruptly, Yuri pulled out her phone with trembling hands.

Huh, why…

Pressing the call button, she let out a small sigh.

Why do I always look for him when things get tough?

The signal beeped, and the call connected immediately.

Before she could speak, he asked her first.

As soon as she heard Jeho’s voice, emotions welled up, and her hand holding the phone tensed.

“I know it’s too late, but…”

Yuri smoothed out her trembling voice and slowly spoke.

“The dinner proposal from earlier… Is it still valid?”

Knowing it was a charade, Yuri still wanted to sink into his affectionate voice. She wished to let go of all the heavy burdens on her shoulders, pretend not to know, and be deceived. But…

The reality before her was too complicated for that.

“Of course.”

Yuri had no idea that Jeho was following her from behind.

He had followed her secretly since leaving the Gapyeong villa. Thinking he would take her home, he was surprised when the car suddenly stopped, and Yuri got out.

Momentarily confused, but luckily there was a parking lot right beside. He quickly parked the car and frantically searched around to find Yuri. Not long after, he spotted Yuri walking alone and had been following her until now.

“I’ll come to pick you up now. Tell me your location.”

She started looking around without knowing where she was. Lost in thought, she had walked without paying attention to her surroundings.

Why does she have such a vacant expression? What did her stepfather say to make her like this?

It probably wasn’t because of the incident Minwoo caused in Paris. It wasn’t even confirmed that Minwoo was the culprit, so speaking carelessly now could cause trouble later. For now, she had to quietly observe.

Eventually, Yuri, who had been looking around, told him her location.

“Got it. I’ll come right away.”

Unable to go straight in, she lingered outside for about 10 minutes before finally entering. Even so, that was quite fast, and Yuri looked at Jeho with a surprised expression.

“Were you nearby?”

Jeho nodded and sat across from her.

“What were you doing without having dinner until now?”

“What about you, Jeho, didn’t you have dinner yet?”

“Well… Somehow, it ended up like this.”
With a smirk, Jeho looked around as if searching for someone and asked, “You said you had plans with Hyunkyung, what happened?”

“Ah, that…”

Yuri hesitated in her response and turned her gaze to the mug in front of her.

“I got the date wrong. I actually made plans with Hyunkyung for next week. So, I was going to call Jeho again…”

The more lies she told, the more skilled she became at it. Yuri was surprised at how smoothly she could spin lies.

But now, she was unsure whether to hide the fact that she met Vice President Kwon or just be honest. Yuri found herself lost in contemplation, staring at the now-cold coffee.

After a moment of hesitation, she finally spoke.

“I received a call from an unexpected place.”

Instead of asking who called, Jeho just looked at Yuri.

“It was Vice President Kwon Woosik.”

Lifting her gaze from the mug, Yuri looked at Jeho and continued, “He said he has something important to discuss, so I’m meeting him on the way back.”